“Sol Prendido” for Borderland Beat
Judge Roberto Elías Martínez had been shot at on Saturday as he was leaving his home. He was shot twice in the head and his health condition was very serious. This Sunday morning he passed away
Arturo Nahle García, president magistrate of the Judicial Power of Zacatecas, in Mexico, confirmed that on Sunday morning Judge Roberto Elías Martínez, who was shot at as he left his home in the municipality of Guadalupe on Saturday, died.
In her social networks, Nahle García issued her condolences and wrote: “The @TribunalZac is in mourning, a few minutes ago one of its most competent and committed to the high value of justice judges passed away. The murder of Judge Roberto Elías Martínez outrages us and adds to the desperate call for peace in Zacatecas. We embrace his family.
In an interview with El Universal, Arturo Nahle said that “in the Judicial Branch we are outraged” and mentioned that when informing about the death to the more than 100 judges through a group chat, they all agreed that “an attack on a judge is an attack on the entire Judicial Branch, and in those terms we are all expressing ourselves”.
Nahle revealed that “there was no prior knowledge that the judge had received any threat, since his colleagues in the Control Court, located in the municipality of Rio Grande, as well as his family, were also consulted, but no one knew of any threat.
He even said that he, as president of the Judicial Power, was not notified either, when a judge receives a threat, precautionary measures are taken to change courts, provide security and thus protect their safety, but he never had any knowledge of any possible threat.
At the same time, he also reviewed the cases that he was attending in the last months and he assures that “they have not found any evidence that indicates that he was killed for this case, therefore, the motive is really unknown and we do not know what could have happened”, therefore, he said that the investigation is the responsibility of the Attorney General’s Office of Zacatecas, to whom he demands to clarify the case and not to leave it unpunished.
He regretted that the violent situation of the country and of the state “has also reached us in the Judicial Power”, and for the time being, he will meet with the family to schedule a mournful tribute to the judge at the Superior Court of Justice of Zacatecas.
