Page 11 - Aruba Today

WORLD NEWS A11
Monday 4 April 2016

Argentine experts question report on missing Mexico students

Relatives of the 43 missing students from the rural teachers est investigation by a team ary 2015 and later in a full government’s perceived
college march holding pictures of their missing loved ones during of experts “neither confirms report released in February mishandling of it dogged
a protest in Mexico City. Argentine forensic experts who have nor denies” the official ver- 2016 that the evidence did the administration of Presi-
studied a dump in southern Mexico where government officials sion of what happened to not support the official ver- dent Enrique Pena Nieto.
claim the bodies of 43 missing teachers’ college students were the students from the Rural sion of events. Attorney General Arely
burned say a new investigation of the site is incomplete and Normal School at Ayotzi- In September 2015, anoth- Gomez responded by or-
inconclusive. napa. er team of independent dering a new investigation
The Argentines were called experts sent by the Inter- by yet another team of ex-
(AP Photo/Marco Ugarte) in shortly after the teach- American Commission on perts. They began working
ers’ college students dis- Human Rights, or IACHR, in February.
MARIA VERZA students were burned said appeared in Iguala in released a report that dis- On Friday, a representative
Associated Press Saturday that results from Guerrero state on Sept. 26, mantled the government’s of the new team said it had
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Ar- a new investigation of the 2014. An investigation by investigation. The report found evidence of a large
gentine forensic experts site are incomplete and in- Mexico’s government con- explained how state and fire at the Cocula dump.
who have studied a dump conclusive. cluded they were killed by federal police, as well as Ricardo Damian Torres also
in southern Mexico where The Argentine Forensic An- a local drug gang after the military, were monitor- said the remains of at least
government officials claim thropology Team released being confused with mem- ing the students’ move- 17 burned bodies were
the bodies of 43 missing a statement saying the lat- bers of a rival group. They ments before they were found in the dump, but he
were purportedly taken attacked. But no one in- didn’t specify when the
by corrupt local police tervened when Iguala and bodies were incinerated.
and handed over to the Cocula police attacked, Torres said tests would be
gang, which incinerated killing six people and par- conducted in the coming
their bodies at a dump in ticipating in the disappear- weeks to determine wheth-
the nearby town of Cocula ance of the 43. er it would have been pos-
and threw the remains into The case drew internation- sible to burn all 43 students
a river. al condemnation and the at the dump.
The Argentines — who were
brought in at the request of
the students’ families and
worked with government
investigators — studied the
dump and said first in Janu-

Puerto Rico:
Fiscal crisis may impact disabled workers fund

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico for establishing priorities talks with creditors about
(AP) — Management em- over which debts to pay. restructuring its debt and
ployees at Puerto Rico’s The SIF bought short- and is considering other mea-
disabled workers fund medium-term notes that sures like a temporary debt
warned on Saturday that provided cash for the gov- payment moratorium.
its $445 million investment ernment to operate. Gov. Alejandro Garcia
in the financially-strapped “The resources we have Padilla announced last
Government Development were given to the govern- June that Puerto Rico’s
Bank would be at risk if the ment and now there is not nearly $70 billion debt is
bank is declared insolvent much money. We have to not payable, but the com-
and pushed into receiver- save these investments or monwealth has so far only
ship. the next to go into bank- reached a deal with credi-
State Insurance Fund Man- ruptcy will be the SIF,” Oso- tors of the Puerto Rico Elec-
agement Employees Fed- rio Flores said. tric Power Authority, which
eration President Juan Oso- GDB President Melba Acos- has about $9 billion in out-
rio Flores called on its board ta said Friday that the bank standing debt.
of directors to safeguard has liquidity of about $700 Congress is expected to
funding to pay injured million and faces a $423 consider legislation this
workers. He said these pay- million bond payment next month granting the com-
ments would be affected month. She denied reports monwealth some bank-
because a receiver would that the institution would ruptcy powers while sub-
take possession of bank’s be closed and employees mitting it to the authority
assets and be responsible fired but said the GDB is in of a fiscal oversight board.