By KELIN DILLON

Following the Aug. 19 arrest of former Mexican Attorney General (FGR) Jesús Murillo Karam, who now faces life in prison following his purported role in the unsolved Ayotzinapa case surrounding 43 missing students, journalist for daily Mexican newspaper El Universal and political analyst Carlos Loret de Moa released a scathing criticism detailing his seven takeaways from the arrest.

According to Loret de Mola, the arrest of Murillo Karam – who was the head of the FGR under Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s (AMLO) predecessor and rival former President Enrique Peña Nieto – only highlights López Obrador’s continued quest of vengeance against his opponents, while his friends who have been accused of corruption are met with impunity. 

Loret de Mola pointed to AMLO allies like current Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero, who has been accused of plagiarism and abuse of power against his relatives, and controversial head of the state-owned Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) Manuel Bartlett, who recently came under the microscope once again for his alleged hand in the corruption of Coahuila’s mining industry. 

“If Murillo was negligent and did not act to rescue the 43, how does Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion Hugo López-Gatell fare with 600,000 deaths in the pandemic?” asked Loret de Mola.

While the contentious investigations into the Ayotzinapa case under Peña Nieto reached no definitive conclusions, and the investigations under the López Obrador administration have reached a similar “historical truth,” Loret de Mola argued that the arrest of Murillo Karam turns the situation political.

Loret de Mola went on to argue that Gertz’s role in Murillo Karam’s apprehension could potentially come back to bite him in the future, especially considering his aforementioned corruption controversies.

“Prosecutor Gertz Manero arrested a man he dispatched from the same office as his a few years ago,” wrote Loret de Mola, mentioning that his sentiments are echoed by AMLO’s legal advisor Julio Scherer. “After what we have witnessed from Gertz this six-year term, there is material for him to follow in the same footsteps as Murillo.”

Likewise, Loret de Mola went on to suggest that Murillo’s arrest was right on time to replace the newly released Rosario Robles – who is likewise from the Peña Nieto era – in prison, who left preventative detention that very same day on Friday, Aug. 19.

On the matter of Mexico City Secretary of Security Omar García Harfuch’s purported role alongside Murillo in the Ayotzinapa case investigation, Loret de Mola said this could become yet another political theme considering Harfuch’s close ties to Mexico City Governor Claudia Sheinbaum, who’s a known favorite of López Obrador.

Loret de Mola went on to touch on the subject of current presidential spokesperson Jesús Ramírez, who may face potential legal ramifications – like his predecessor Eduardo Sánchez currently has in the Ayotzinapa case – upon later review of AMLO’s presidency for simply relaying his administration’s decisions to the public.

Finally, Loret de Mola spoke on former Guerrero Governor Ángel Aguirre, who was previously accused of involvement in the case and declared himself a scapegoat, but now may face legal ramifications brought on by López Obrador once more.