Suspect’s Family Assails Probe of Colosio Case

The family of a former Tijuana factory worker, who is accused of assassinating a leading Mexican presidential candidate, on Wednesday harshly criticized the government investigation of the case in letters to Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari and other top officials.

The suspect’s family, writing with the aid of prominent Los Angeles human rights attorneys, asserts that Mario Aburto Martinez may have been tortured into confessing to the killing of Luis Donaldo Colosio, who was widely expected to be elected Mexico’s next president before he was gunned down March 23 at a Tijuana rally.

Mexican authorities say Aburto has admitted to the crime. But he later told interviewers that he was beaten by interrogators.

“We have serious doubts whether the investigation conducted has been complete, or whether Mario will receive a fair trial,” wrote his parents, Ruben Aburto and Maria Luis Martinez of San Pedro.

Their comments come at an important time in the case.

The special prosecutor who had handled the Colosio investigation resigned last week amid sharp criticism of his conclusion that Aburto acted alone. Salinas appointed a new prosecutor, insisting that the case is not closed. Delays in concluding the assassination inquiry have increased the air of uncertainty in Mexico, where national elections are scheduled one month from today.

Aburto’s relatives, who believe he is being singled out unfairly in what they say may be an assassination conspiracy, have indicated they will take an active role in the inquiry.

Next month, Ruben Aburto is scheduled to provide his first sworn testimony in the case in a special proceeding before U.S. prosecutors in Los Angeles. They are acting on a request from Mexican officials. The father could be a significant new witness because he says his son’s behavior before the assassination indicated that Mario Aburto may have been drawn into a plot.

Expressing concern for Aburto’s well-being and questioning the adequacy of his government-provided defense, relatives want to visit the suspect in his cell near Mexico City. They want to bring along independent lawyers and physicians, including a psychiatrist.

The family challenges authorities’ portrayal of a politically obsessed Aburto whose writings and drawings attest to unstable character. Relatives call Aburto sane, law-abiding, hard-working and indifferent to politics.

“We believe that the government’s focus on Mario Aburto as the sole assassin results from a desire to complete this matter as quickly as possible, and Mr. Aburto’s lack of political and economic status,” attorneys Peter A. Schey and Carlos Holguin, both affiliated with the Los Angeles-based Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, wrote in a letter accompanying the parents’ correspondence. Salinas’ office had no immediate response.