Mexican tribunal orders release of military 'Dirty War' archives

A Mexican Collegiate Tribunal in Administrative Matters has ordered the creation of an Archive Transparency Commission to ensure the release of military records regarding the ‘Guerra Sucia’ (Dirty War) period, spanning 1965 to 1990.

The ruling follows a legal challenge by historian and activist Alicia de los Ríos Merino, who is seeking information regarding her mother, a member of the Liga Comunista 23 de Septiembre who disappeared in 1978. The court determined that the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) has been “omissive in its obligation to make transparent and deliver” these files.

The new commission must be impartial and include representatives from the National General Archive (AGN). Its responsibilities include identifying, classifying, and transferring files that may contain information relevant to the whereabouts of disappeared persons, the reconstruction of historical facts, and the establishment of legal responsibilities. This decision addresses the failure to comply with a 2019 presidential instruction to transfer all historical documents related to human rights violations and political persecution to the AGN.