Americas press review

In the spotlight: in Mexico, 8 years after the disappearance of the 43 students, still no answer

Relatives hold banners with portraits of missing students during a march to demand justice, in Mexico City, August 26, 2022. REUTERS - HENRY ROMERO

Text by: Oriane Verdier Follow

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On Monday September 26, thousands of people commemorated the eighth anniversary of the disappearance of the 43 students of Ayotzinapa in a large march in Mexico City.

This case continues to upset the country and the families continue to demand justice.

On the night of September 26 to 27, 2014, 43 normaliens from a rural school in Guerrero, aged 19 to 21, disappeared near Iguala.

The Guerreros Unidos criminal group, aided by local police officers, is implicated.

But this very controversial version of events and defended by the authorities at the time has since been denied.

In 2019, under the current government, new investigations were relaunched, supervised by a special government commission.

The latter submitted a preliminary report in mid-August denouncing “a state crime”.

The document accuses the direct involvement, not only of the police, but also of the army in this affair.

The next day, Jesús Murillo Karam, the former attorney general of the Republic, was arrested, and 83 arrest warrants were issued against officials and soldiers.

But since these latest revelations, the case has stalled, many mysteries persist and the families are tired of demanding the truth.

The faces of these families and their missing loved ones are on the front pages of Mexican newspapers this Tuesday.

The government does not care about the relatives of these 43 students, according to

.

The newspaper recalls that the parents' lawyer highlighted the pressures behind the withdrawal of the 21 arrest warrants against people allegedly involved in the disappearance of the students.

This is a clear setback in the justice process, notes

.

The recent leaks in the media on the circumstances of the disappearance of the students are in the view of some a new manipulation of the authorities to slow down the affair.

“

 sums up

.

The national daily adds that former President Enrique Peña Nieto is also particularly targeted by protesters' criticism.

Some even ask that he too be prosecuted for knowingly concealing the truth and protecting the military.

El Sol de Acapulco

is headlined by another march, that of some 300 United Front students from the Normal Schools in the state of Guerrerro where the 42 missing were studying.

Their comrades therefore gathered in the city of Chilpancigo, capital of the state of Guerrerro.

With the eternal slogan, “

”.

After Cuba, Florida worries about Ian's arrival

The day has finally dawned on Cuba and Florida.

A long night spent waiting for Hurricane Ian to arrive.

All night, the rains, then violent winds intensified.

According to 

, Ian has already reached the western part of Cuba.

The online news site has implemented minute-by-minute tracking.

It highlights in particular testimonials published on social networks.

That of journalist Lazaro Manuel Alonso who describes scenes of terror and desolation.

His 70-year-old father claims to have never experienced this.

The actual hurricane finally made landfall in western Cuba early Tuesday as a Category 3 storm, the 

reports .

Now is the time to assess the damage.

Ian now continues on his way to Florida.

In an editorial, the

asks him about the help to bring to Puerto Rico violently hit last week by Hurricane Fiona.

The newspaper clearly calls in its headline for the removal of federally imposed import costs in Puerto Rico.

The island is part of the United States, but is not a state as such.

It thus depends on the Jones Act, a law on protectionism which dates from 1920. This law provides in particular that ships transporting goods to Puerto Rico be American, built in the United States and sailed by 75% American personnel.

These constraints necessarily complicate the importation of goods and above all make them more expensive.

Seen from a distance, this seems like historical details, but in fact it complicates the lives of Puerto Ricans, especially during natural disasters, raises the

.

In 2017, after Maria passed, then-President Donald Trump suspended the infamous Jones Act for just ten days.

A law to which the maritime unions are attached and which Joe Biden again defended last year.

To help Puerto Rico, it is not enough for the US government to provide emergency aid, the editorial summarizes, it must stop hurting it in the long term.

Also in the American national press, the feat of NASA

The success of a mission to save a future day, according to The

.

For decades, this scenario has been at the heart of many Hollywood films, the newspaper points out: an asteroid rushes towards the earth, creates tsunamis, massive destruction and the death of all human beings on the planet.

Last night NASA was the anticipated hero of the story.

Scientists from a laboratory based between Baltimore and Washington caused the collision of a spacecraft with an asteroid in order to divert it from its trajectory.

The latter did not threaten the Earth.

But it is better to test the technique before having to actually save the planet.

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