Colosio’s Killer Gets 42 Years; Probe Continues

Mario Aburto Martinez, a 23-year-old factory worker, was convicted Monday of murdering ruling party presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio and sentenced to 42 years in prison, eight years less than the maximum term.

The special prosecutor in charge of the case immediately announced plans to appeal the sentence, insisting on the 50-year maximum.

Because Mexico does not have jury trials, the verdict and the sentence are decided by a judge, whose ruling is subject to two reviews by higher courts.

Coming about seven months after Colosio’s assassination at a campaign rally in a working-class Tijuana neighborhood, the sentencing still leaves unanswered many questions about the killing, including the motive. Monday’s announcement said the investigation, which has been viewed skeptically by much of the Mexican public, will continue.

Further, the announcement is expected to fuel a growing debate about the Mexican judicial system and sentences that some say are too lenient. Reform of the justice system was a major issue in the campaign of Colosio’s replacement, Ernesto Zedillo, who won the Aug. 21 presidential election and is scheduled to take office Dec. 1.

Polls show that many Mexicans suspect a conspiracy to assassinate Colosio, a reformer who was expected to be elected easily. And since another reformer, second-ranking party official Francisco Ruiz Massieu, was killed Sept. 28, the public has linked the two murders as the result of infighting between hard-liners and reformers in the party that has ruled Mexico for 65 years.

“In all these cases, the truth is never told,” said David Tapia, a 24-year-old shopkeeper. “There is a Mafia government behind all this. They killed Colosio because he was really a straight arrow and wanted to make changes.”

The special prosector’s office released a statement last week denying that any ties have been found between the assassinations.

Aburto was grabbed and beaten by the crowd immediately after he shot Colosio and was then turned over to police. In the following days, four other men were arrested as accomplices who pushed people aside to let Aburto get near Colosio.

One was immediately released for lack of evidence. The other three remain in custody but have not yet been tried. At their lawyers’ requests, their cases have been separated from that of Aburto, who has steadfastly maintained that he acted alone.

The first special prosecutor named to investigate the Colosio murder concluded that Aburto was a lone gunman. He resigned amid public furor over the statement.

The new special prosecutor continued to follow up on leads, but her investigation has failed to reveal any significant additional evidence, said Miguel Sanchez de Armas, press director for the special prosecutor’s office.

In Monday’s statement announcing Aburto’s sentence, the attorney general tacitly acknowledged public doubts about the investigation, concluding, “The special prosecutor will continue the investigation to completely clarify the events that took place in Lomas Taurinas neighborhood in Tijuana on last March 23.”

Public confidence was not bolstered by Aburto’s trial, conducted under a system derived from the Napoleonic Code, a legacy of European rule. The proceedings took place mainly behind closed doors inside the maximum security prison where Aburto is being held.

The prosecution and defense presented evidence to Judge Alejandro Sosa in sporadic hearings during the months since Aburto’s arrest.

Aburto’s public defender did not publicize his evidence.

Sosa decided Aburto’s guilt and determined the sentence. Aburto was fully responsible for premeditated and malicious homicide, the judge found, according to the statement from the attorney general’s office. No explanation was given for why Aburto did not receive the maximum sentence.

Susan Drummet of The Times’ Mexico City Bureau contributed to this report.