New Arrest in Decades-Old Murder of Mexican Presidential Hopeful
A recent breakthrough has been made in the unresolved 1994 slaying of Luis Donaldo Colosio, a Mexican presidential candidate. An unnamed official confirmed on Monday that a new suspect, Jorge Antonio Sánchez Ortega, has been apprehended in Tijuana and is currently awaiting trial in a high-security prison in central Mexico.
The specific charges being held against Sánchez Ortega have not been disclosed. However, it is known that the arrest was made on the previous Saturday, marking a significant development in the investigation of Colosio's murder, which has been a mystery for over three decades.
Unraveling the Mystery of a Political Assassination
Luis Donaldo Colosio, the 1994 presidential candidate of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), was killed in a shooting incident at a political rally in Tijuana. The case has remained a mystery even after the self-proclaimed assassin, Mario Aburto, has served over 30 years in prison after confessing to the crime. However, Aburto later retracted his confession, alleging that it was obtained under duress.
Following these allegations, a recommendation was made to the federal prosecutor’s office to reopen the investigation into Colosio's murder during the term of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2019-2024). This recommendation came from the National Human Rights Commission, which was responding to the concerns raised by Aburto.
Political Turmoil and Conspiracy Theories
Colosio's assassination triggered a severe political crisis and has been a subject of controversy, with theories suggesting that the murder may have been orchestrated by powerful entities due to internal conflicts within the ruling PRI. These tensions were mainly centered around the selection of a successor for then-President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.
Earlier this year, the Attorney General's Office released a statement indicating that there was evidence placing an intelligence agent, known only as Jorge Antonio “S,” at the scene of the crime. This agent was assigned to Colosio's security detail at the time of the murder. The statement also mentioned that the agent's clothing was found stained with the victim's blood, and ballistic evidence suggested that he fired a weapon shortly before Colosio was shot.
The same statement confirmed suspicions that the National Security and Investigation Center, which was part of the Ministry of the Interior in 1994, sent the agent to the scene of the assassination and then hurriedly and covertly removed him from Tijuana. The agency labeled the agent's immediate release as a clear criminal cover-up.
With the new arrest, it is hoped that more light will be shed on the unsolved murder of Luis Donaldo Colosio, and justice will finally be served.
