Diplomatic Immunity for Mexican Ex-President Ernesto Zedillo? Beatriz Schiava - Examiner.com
go to original September 7, 2012

A massacre foretold: Acteal - On 22 December 1997, forty-five indigenous residents of the small Southern Mexican village of Acteal were attending a prayer meeting in their village church when they were slaughtered by unknown paramilitary forces. They were members of the pacifist group Las Abejas (The Bees), who were supporters of the revolutionary Zapatistas but renounced their violent methods. The investigation into their deaths quickly went suspiciously cold. Scottish documentary maker Nick Higgins, an expert on Mexican culture and politics and the author of 'Understanding the Chiapas Rebellion', attains unprecedented access to the place, the people, and the story behind a barely-reported atrocity. (YouTube)

Dr. Ernesto Zedillo, ex-President of Mexico and Professor of economics at Yale University is awaiting the “statement of interest,” from the US Department of Justice to grant him diplomatic immunity in the civil lawsuit against him filed in New Haven, Connecticut. The US Department of Justice has until September 7, to make a statement of interest to the judge in Connecticut. The charges brought against Dr. Zedillo by the relatives of the victims of the massacre in Acteal, State of Chiapas, Mexico, are for his alleged responsibility in the extrajudicial killings of their relatives, war crimes, cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, crimes against humanity, and violations of human rights.

In his article, “Universal jurisdiction,” published in the Spanish Newspaper, El País on September 4, political analyst, Jorge G. Castañeda makes the argument that the State Department “invokes US relations with Mexico,” and that the Zedillo administration was “friendly to the US, and democratic,” to grant the requested diplomatic immunity. Dr. Castañeda says that “it would be a pity, were a decent, democratic leader like Zedillo to pay the cost of clamping down on murderous crooked tyrants.”

It is possible that as Dr. Castañeda argues, the Obama administration will grant the request of diplomatic immunity made by Mexican President Felipe Calderón, to the US on behalf of Zedillo, on sovereignty grounds.

It is not correct to say that the Zedillo administration was democratic. Actually, it was a repressive regime of the many PRI governments during the seven decades with the PRI in power. The existence of paramilitary forces, trained and armed by the Mexican army, in Mexican territory is well documented, not only by international human rights organizations, but also by the US National Security Archive: Electronic Briefing Book No. 283. The National Security Archive shows the telegram of the US Defense Attaché Office in Mexico that, highlights “direct support,” of armed groups in the highlands of Chiapas, specifically, in the Chenalho communities, during the Zedillo administration.

In the Acteal massacre, 45 unarmed people, mostly women and children, including three pregnant women were killed on December 22, 1997. According to the Special Prosecutor in the State of Chiapas, Dr. Zedillo “had knowledge of the events in Acteal and did nothing to avoid a confrontation, and he acted and behaved in such a way that gave, as a result, the killings on December 22, 1997.” It is also worthy to mention that the plaintiffs and the Mexican people have waited 14 years to obtain justice that was denied to them in Mexico.

The Obama administration may need to be especially careful to grant diplomatic immunity to Dr. Zedillo. The support of the Mexican American community for Mr. Obama’s reelection is paramount, if he wants to be reelected. The PRI governments and the case of the Acteal massacre are particularly painful and unpopular among the Mexican American community.

Dr. Zedillo and his attorneys have denied all charges. However, Dr. Zedillo was a public servant and as such, he needs to respond for the charges brought to him in New Haven to clear his name, or be held accountable. Instead, Dr. Zedillo is dodging the charges by requesting diplomatic immunity.

Indeed, Dr. Zedillo was friendly to US financial institutions and American businesses during his administration. However, Mexicans still remember the terrible financial meltdown and the peso devaluation that left many in poverty during his administration. Documents presented by the plaintiffs’ attorneys, show the Chase Manhattan memo, dated February 14, 1995, advising the Zedillo administration to “eliminate the Zapatistas.” This shows the extraordinary and illegal power that an American financial institution had during the Zedillo administration to suggest the elimination of Mexican citizens. Yes, Dr. Zedillo did help American businesses but left Mexicans submerged in poverty. Is that enough to grant him diplomatic immunity? No.

The subtitle of Castañeda’s article is: “The sovereign immunity debate has entered a new phase as the US government gets involved in the lawsuit against ex-Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, now a US citizen.” According to Castañeda, Dr. Zedillo obtained the honor to be a US citizen. This event is very disappointing and worrisome. It is a very serious precedent, since the civil law suit brought against him for crimes against humanity is not solved. The Department of Homeland Security cannot grant citizenship, if they suspect that a serious crime was committed in the country of origin.

To be an American citizen is a great honor. The citizenship should not be granted without a complete investigation over the charges brought in court. The massacre of Acteal is a crime against humanity and a flagrant violation of human rights. It is particularly heinous when those attacked were largely women and children. A fair trial and the discovery during the court proceedings could help to show if Dr. Zedillo was, or was not responsible of the charges brought against him.

If the Obama administration grants diplomatic immunity to Dr. Zedillo, it will create a disastrous precedent where heads of states and military personnel accused of violations of human rights, crimes of state, and against humanity will live happily ever after in the United States. If the immunity is granted it will create a serious precedent, leaving the door open for impunity. Those accused of crimes of state will even become citizens of the United States preventing the citizens of their native countries from holding them accountable and creating an international criminal sanctuary in the United States.

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