Durango group disputes charges against 29 detainees

Reporting and context

A community group in Durango disputes the state prosecutor’s account of charges against 29 people detained after events in La Laguna in April. The Frente Unido de los Pueblos de La Laguna en Defensa de la Vida y el Territorio says extortion is not part of the case file and that the accusations instead concern alleged criminal association, a theft offense and interference with transport routes. Those are the group’s account of the proceedings, rather than a court finding.

According to Durango Press, group member Hipólito Trujillo Silva said at a news conference that 15 of the 29 remain in Durango’s CERESO No. 1 prison and the other 14 are under house arrest while their cases proceed. He called statements by state prosecutor Sonia Yadira de la Garza Fragoso unfounded and said talks with authorities had stopped. The group contends some charges were added improperly; the report does not establish that claim independently.

The Frente also rejected an allegation involving stolen trailers. It said authorities seized nine protesters’ vehicles and alleged that up to 30,000 pesos had been demanded for their release. Durango Press reported that the group links the dispute to its campaign over labor and land rights in the Dinamita area. These assertions remain attributed to the organization.

Representatives plan to meet federal human rights undersecretary Félix Arturo Medina Padilla in Mexico City on October 5 and seek a discussion with Durango’s governor and prosecutor. The group said the Zeferino Ladrillero human rights organization will take on its legal defense. A federal hearing on one of its legal challenges was held Tuesday as it sought a change to pretrial measures for those still in custody.