Mexican government swears to uncover truth about disappearance of 43 students

Mexican Minister of the Interior Miguel Angel Osirio Chong said on Tuesday that the government is seeking the truth about what happened to the 43 students who disappeared a year ago in the town of Ayotzinapa, in the southern state of Guerrero.

Appearing before the Mexican Senate, Osorio Chong reiterated the pledge to clear up the facts. "Local authorities were in collusion with those committing these crimes, which led to painful events," he said, adding that there will be no pardon for those responsible and that the victims would not be forgotten.

Last Saturday marked a year since the night of Sept. 26 when the 43 students from the rural school, Raul Isidro Burgos, in Ayotzinapa disappeared after a group of police officers stopped the buses in which they were travelling.

Last November, a preliminary government report said the local police had handed the students over to the Guerreros Unidos cartel, who allegedly murdered them and burnt the bodies in a garbage dump in the town of Cocula.

Osorio Chong explained to the Senate that 111 people had been arrested so far but explained that all those involved must be arrested.

Last week, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto met with the relatives of the students and told them that "the government and society were on the same side" in their quest for justice.

During his appearance, Osorio Chong also spoke about the evasion of drug trafficker Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as El Chapo, on July 11 from a maximum security prison.

"Unfortunately, this act cost the country the professional and dedicated efforts of the security forces who captured him. These forces have neutralized the majority of the country's most dangerous criminals and are now hard at work to recapture him," he explained. Enditem