Cardinal Sandoval calls for truth about assassination of his predecessor

Guadalajara, Mexico, May 26, 2009 / 16:15 pm

On the 16th anniversary of the murder of Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo of Guadalajara, which took place on May 24, 1993, the deceased prelate’s successor, Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez, called for the truth to be made known about the event. “We must not cease in our determination that the truth be told” about this case, he said.

In an extensive report on the case published by the Archdiocese of Guadalajara’s weekly, “Seminario,” Cardinal Sandoval said his work as the slain cardinal’s successor and his efforts to see justice served in the case have not been easy, and that he has not felt the support of the State of Jalisco.

“It has been difficult because I have faced a persecution, sometimes openly, sometimes underhandedly, from those who were involved in the crime,” the cardinal said, adding that society in the State of Jalisco has been “silent” about the case as well. “Some people speak out to the media, but in public they act like nothing happened,” he said.

Regarding the legal situation of the Posadas case, Cardinal Sandoval said it involves he and his legal team doing all the work to find the truth, “because the government has no interest in resolving it, I don’t know if that’s because they don’t want to have any problems, if there are political interests or what.”

The cardinal’s report notes that “sixteen years after the murder of Posadas, the case remains open, and hope remains that it can be resolved if federal authorities subpoena key figures in the case who can untangle the web of lies and complicity.”

The report points to Alberto Gallardo Robles, currently imprisoned in the U.S., and former president Carlos Salinas as key figures in the case. Fernando Guzman, the secretary general of the State of Jalisco and one of the lawyers on the case, said the testimony of Salinas is important because “he was the person who was most informed at the time, and he could provide essential elements to clear up the case.”

Cardinal Posadas Ocampo was murdered in 1993 at the Guadalajara Airport when gunmen, armed with automatic weapons, attacked him in his car.  The case has been reopened several times, however no one has been imprisoned.