01x03 - The Second sh**ter

[bunniefuu]

-♪ [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING] ♪
-[POLICE SIREN WAILING]

DAY OF THE ATTACK

LAURA SÁNCHEZ LEY: On March 23,
Jorge Antonio Sánchez Ortega,

who was allegedly
an agent of CISEN,

had been transferred
to the facilities of the PGR.

They believed that he had gotten
very close to the candidate

and had fired the second shot
into his stomach.

When he's admitted
to the PGR facilities,

he sees Mario Aburto in a cell
on the right-hand side.

I walked by there
with the people

who were going to t*rture me,
with the federal agents.

MARIO ABURTO'S BROTHER

And one of the agents
says to him,

"And what are you doing here?"

"Well, they brought me
because I have
Colosio's blood on me."

Sánchez Ortega.

I kept staring and felt
like running to hug him.

I thought he was my brother.

He had the same haircut.
Everything was the same.

The only difference
was that my brother,

his shirt was all torn up,

and he was wearing
his white jacket, right?

That was the difference.

But at that moment,
we were very confused.

That's when we realized

that the government
had something prepared,

that they had planted
their own agents

to assassinate
Luis Donaldo Colosio

and wanted to blame
my brother Mario.

LAURA:
Jorge Antonio Sánchez Ortega
and Mario Aburto did look alike.

There is
even a section in the report

that overlays the images
one over the other,

and it seems to me
that this could indeed

have contributed
to the confusion.

So, Mario begins, well,

to somewhat believe
this version,

where other people
who looked very similar to him

had indeed been infiltrated

on the day
of Colosio's assassination.

MARIO ABURTO MARTÍNEZ:
Do you remember that I told you
that I had been intimidated

into taking responsibility
for a crime I did not commit?

TELEPHONE CONVERSATION
BETWEEN MARIO AND HIS FATHER

They used another person
who looked like me

when they had him
at the PGR in Tijuana.

JESÚS GONZÁLEZ SCHMAL:
Obviously, Sánchez Ortega

could be
a very interesting element

in the investigation

because he was very close
to the events.

JOSÉ LUIS ABURTO MARTÍNEZ:
We are not afraid
for the truth to be known

because we know
that Mario has been innocent

from the very first moment
they grabbed him.

They are afraid,
and everything comes to light.

♪ [THEME MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

COLOSIO: POLITICAL ASSASSINATION

EPISODE 3
THE SECOND sh**ter

♪ [THEME MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

♪ [TENSE MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

ATAHUALPA GARIBAY REYES:
On the afternoon of March 23rd,

CISEN arranged...

TIJUANA REPORTER

...an
information-coverage operation

to report on Colosio's events
in Tijuana.

Sánchez Ortega was
in the vehicle assigned to him.

It was a very distinctive
red Volkswagen.

And he was at the wheel,

sharing information
with his other colleagues.

LUIS DONALDO COLOSIO MURRIETA:
...the needs of more and better
opportunities for everyone,

but above all,
for those who have the least.

I want to tell you, friends,
that I have come to Tijuana.

-[CROWD CHEERING]
-[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

PROTESTER 1:
Long live Baja California!

PROTESTER 2: Long live Tijuana!

PROTESTER 1:
Long live grassroots organizing!

-[g*nshots FIRING]
-[INDISTINCT CLAMOR]

OFFICER: [OVER RADIO] They shot
the candidate in the head.

-[POLICE SIREN WAILING]
-♪ [OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

And the governor's order

was that they detain
all the suspects,

especially if they were
federal agents.

And one of the "suspects"
was Sánchez Ortega.

ERNESTO RUFFO APPEL:
The municipal police
detained him

because they saw him
wandering in the vicinity...

GOVERNOR OF BAJA CALIFORNIA

...a few minutes after
the incident happened

and noticed
he had a strange attitude.

LAURA: This man
was wearing his jacket

completely stained with blood.

It seemed that he was trying
to escape from the area.

What happens is that,
at that moment,

the municipal officer
prevents him from fleeing.

INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

DORA ELENA CORTÉS JUÁREZ:
And when he asked him
why his jacket was stained,

at that moment,
he did not know how to answer.

JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR
OF "EL COMPLOT"

Then he did not
want to identify himself.

XAVIER CARVAJAL MACHADO:
They handcuff him

to the door handle
of the vehicle,

of the door of his Volkswagen,
and from there,

some people
who saw him tied up there
tried to lynch him.

FIRST LAWYER OF MARIO ABURTO

And they give the order for him
to be taken as a detainee.

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

ERNESTO: Sánchez Ortega's
information is taken,

his fingerprints,
his identification.

It was difficult
because he did not want to say

that he was from
the Ministry of the Interior.

However, he was ultimately
fully identified.

A ballistics test
is performed on him

regarding the rhodizonate,

which reveals whether you have
gunpowder residue on your hands,

and that reveals
whether you operated a weapon.

♪ [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

RIGHT HAND: POSITIVE

LEFT HAND: POSITIVE
LEFT BACK: POSITIVE

FRANCISCO FRANCO RÍOS:
It was positive on both hands.

It was primary evidence
that had to be strengthened...

ATTORNEY GENERAL
OF BAJA CALIFORNIA

...with other requirements
that we no longer had

the opportunity to carry out.

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

DORA ELENA:
The state authorities
decide to formally hand him over

to the Federal Police,

to the Office of the Attorney
General of the Republic,

despite the fact that they
were receiving pressure

to release him.

♪ [TENSE MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
OF THE REPUBLIC

XAVIER: After attending
to Mario Aburto Martínez

and Vicente Mayoral,

they asked me
if I could also assist,

uh, Jorge Antonio
Sánchez Ortega, and...

I accepted.

At that time, in 1994,
when the PRI had total control,

it could afford
to have the same lawyer

for all of its detainees.

So, it does not seem
strange to me,

especially given
the modus operandi

of the Institutional
Revolutionary Party

at that time.

It is not ill*gal,

as long as there
was no conflict of interest

-among those represented.
-♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

In Sánchez Ortega's
ministerial statement

there were only a couple

of Public Prosecutor's
Office agents.

SÁNCHEZ ORTEGA'S LAWYER

And one of them
was the one asking the questions

and it was brief.

He stated that
he was reporting to Mexico City,

and he said that
when the shots were heard,

he observed how the candidate
was mortally wounded

when he was brought in.

ATAHUALPA:
He was 100, 200 meters

from where the attack occurred,

and Sánchez Ortega himself
says that

when he approached to verify

that it was
Luis Donaldo Colosio,

who was going to be transferred
by ambulance,

his jacket
became soaked with blood

from one of the people

who was participating
in the transfer.

[AMBULANCE SIREN WAILING]

XAVIER: I do not recall
that he was armed,

or that he stated
he was carrying a weapon.

♪ [SINISTER MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

MINISTERIAL STATEMENT
BY JORGE ANTONIO SÁNCHEZ ORTEGA

THAT HE HAS NOT FIRED
ANY SHOTS WITH A FIREARM

ATAHUALPA:
According to the statements,

CISEN agents
did not carry weapons

and were not authorized
to carry weapons.

DORA ELENA: So, the question is
how it came back positive,

how he had traces of gunpowder

on his hands
if he had not fired.

Sodium rhodizonate lends itself
to several false positives,

when we have contact
with gasoline...

CRIMINAL LAWYER

...with the gasoline pump
itself,

when we use matches,
et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

He was able to show
that he had pumped gasoline,

uh, to go cover the rally
at Lomas Taurinas,

even at a nearby gas station.

When the rhodizonate test
is positive on both hands,

it means that the weapon
was held with both hands.

And usually, a person
who does this is someone

who has police or military
knowledge or training.

When one triggers
an expl*sive device...

TIJUANA MUNICIPAL POLICE

...gunpowder material
is always expelled,

and that gunpowder adheres
to the skin.

And if it tests positive,
it is positive.

It cannot give a false positive.
Either it is or it isn't.

♪ [TENSE MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

DORA ELENA: The stained jacket,

the evasive
and suspicious attitude,

and in addition, the signs
of having fired a firearm,

already made him
a special candidate

to be a suspect.
And he was always protected.

LAURA: They said
that there was no evidence

to keep him imprisoned.

There is talk
of telephone calls from CISEN

for Jorge Antonio Sánchez Ortega

to be released
almost immediately.

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

I met Sánchez Ortega
at the end of '93.

I was a reporter covering
political events in Tijuana.

♪ [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

ATAHUALPA:
We reporters used to talk

to get to know the CISEN agents,

who were the informants or spies
of the Ministry of the Interior.

They went in civilian clothes,
sat like anyone else,

introduced themselves,
they were not hidden spies.

They would say,
"Hello, nice to meet you,

I'm so-and-so, I work at CISEN.
Here's my business card.

Call me
if you have any questions

or want some information."

SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

DORA ELENA:
They were always present
at every important event,

even attending interviews

for those arriving
at the airport.

They would also approach
and take down information

about who they were,
when they arrived,

what they came for,
and what they said.

That was CISEN's control.

It was common for them

to use any means
to hide their identity,

including pretending
to be journalists.

ATAHUALPA:
They pretend to be journalists

so that people
won't "make faces at them,"

as we say in Mexico,
so they won't feel, like,

"There are
the government people,

they are listening in,
they are ears."

In Mexico, we call them "ears."

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

ERNESTO: Think of it as
the political police of Mexico.

That's what the people
from the Ministry
of the Interior were.

And when I saw them,
I would run them off the stage.

But their task
was to go unnoticed.

♪ [TENSE MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

"THE b*llet FOUND IN
LOMAS TAURINAS AND THE ROL
OF SÁNCHEZ ORTEGA,

KEY QUESTIONS
IN THE m*rder OF COLOSIO"

ATAHUALPA:
After the news articles
and reports started coming out,

they removed him
from Baja California...

"THERE COULD HAVE BEEN
TWO IDENTICAL WEAPONS"

...to cover him because he was
still working for CISEN.

They took him out of the state,
sent him, I think, to La Paz,

Baja California Sur,
and he was away for some time.

LAURA: After the attack
on Luis Donaldo Colosio...

THEY REFUSE
TO PROVIDE INFORMATION
ON THE WHEREABOUTS

...Jorge Antonio Sánchez Ortega
was a ghost.

He seemed like an urban legend

that had been created
in the media.

SÁNCHEZ ORTEGA WAS
TRANSFERRED TO THE PGR

However,
some colleagues in the press

did begin to report
his presence.

For example, during an event
in Saltillo in the year 2008.

But, after that, we no longer
know anything about him.

DORA ELENA: Information from
people close to him indicate

that he was very scared

because there was a lot
for him to clarify.

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

How could thousands
of gallons of ink

be wasted to write
about second sh**ter,

if there was only one sh**ter?

What I could consider

is that Mario
was part of a group

of certain people who, in a way,

planted that idea in him
to do what he did.

♪ [TENSE MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

MARIO: [ON RECORDING]
I let myself be carried away
by the comments of other people

which were well founded,
well put together.

ATAHUALPA: Mario Aburto says
that he used to go to a building

where a political party met.

That was the party
of the American Union.

A party of citizens
from Baja California

who shared the idea
that Baja California

should join the United States.

DORA ELENA:
Doctor Messina is a person
with somewhat strange ideas...

DOCTOR AND POLITICAL ACTIVIST

...who, in his office
in the downtown area,

puts up some flags and a slogan.

ATAHUALPA:
Ernesto Messina's discourse

was anti-Mexican government,
anti-system.

PEOPLE HAVE
THE RIGHT TO OVERTHROW
THESE ARBITRARY GOVERNMENTS

He categorically denied
having influenced Mario Aburto.

APPLAUDS AND JUSTIFIES
COLOSIO'S CRIME

He denied what we were seeing.

So, there was a decision there
to get rid of this whole problem

because investigators
immediately arrived

to speak with him,
and he realized

that the situation was
becoming complicated for him.

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

ATAHUALPA: I couldn't say
for sure that Messina

influenced or manipulated him.

What I can consider
is that he met people,

persons who were
anti-government,

anti-PRI, or who were driven
by other kinds of interests.

♪ [PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

MARIO: I have never
been afraid of anything.

I even renounced everything.
My family, my name...

And I was decorated
as an Eagle Knight,

the highest of the warriors.

ATAHUALPA: Mario Aburto
sympathized with these ideas

because he even mentions it
in his notebook.

The trunk containing
the belongings

of Mario Aburto Martínez,
which was in the house

in the Buenos Aires
Norte neighborhood,

was secured
by the Tijuana Municipal Police.

They went
to the Aburto home, entered,

and removed the trunk
where the ledger book was

and delivered it to the PGR.

SIGNED BY A SON OF THE FATHER
AND EAGLE KNIGHT

JOSÉ LUIS:
That the knight whatever,
that the drawings,

all of that was planned
by the PGR to frame him,

lie, and convince Mexico
that he was the m*rder*r

of Luis Donaldo Colosio,
when he is not.

-♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪
-[DISTANT DOOR CLOSING]

[DISTANT DOOR LOCKING]

LAURA: It is very difficult
to reach conclusions,

especially in the case
of Mario Aburto,

because from 1994
to the present,

the reality is that the versions
have changed a great deal.

He was a lone assassin.

I say this
because I corroborated it.

♪ [TENSE MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

OFFICER: Yes?

-[INDISTINCT CHATTER]
-OFFICER: Attorney...

Hey, let's go to Mayoral.

XAVIER: Vicente Mayoral,

when giving
his ministerial statement,

states that
upon hearing the shot,

he turns around
and grabs the weapon

with one of his hands and grabs
the arm with the other hand.

And the Presidential
General Staff guards

fell on top of them.

And it was at that instant when
the second shot was produced

from the weapon he was holding.

Without a doubt,

what Aburto had stated,


was exactly the same.

There was no way
they could have arranged that.

To know a testimony is true,
it has to have errors.

PSYCHIATRIST IN THE ABURTO CASE

And I believe
that is what is detected

in Mario's testimony.

But, in broad terms,
the testimony does not change.

When everyone was beating him,

he said that he was not
the m*rder*r.

It wasn't me!

And you can hear him saying,
"It wasn't me! It wasn't me!"

JOURNALIST AND NEIGHBOR
OF MARIO ABURTO

None of the people I spoke with
that were close to the team.

I spoke with many
military people, politicians.

JOURNALIST AND WITNESS
OF THE ATTACK

In short,
no one saw Mario Aburto fire.

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

DORA ELENA: In no image
does he appear in full.

You see the arm that rises,

and then you see
when they detain him.

[INDISTINCT CLAMOR]

DORA ELENA: But I insist you do
not see the person who fires,

and you do not see
the alleged Mario Aburto.

It is incomprehensible
and that is why I understand...

PRESIDENT OF MEXICO

...that for many people,
it is very difficult to accept

that a lone assassin
was responsible

for a tragedy of this magnitude.

It is also very hard for me.

But all the evidence
I have seen, all of it,

starting with the confession
of the material perpetrator,

who is still alive
and in prison,

unlike what has happened

with other assassinations
elsewhere.

I have no evidence

that points
in any other direction.

♪ [TENSE MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

Of those who were present
and could be witnesses,
more than half have died.

MARIO ABURTO'S LAWYER

DORA ELENA: Later, there were
some very strange deaths

related to the crime
of Luis Donaldo Colosio,

people who were linked
in one way or another

to this case, which all happened
in a short period of time.

This included
the delegate of the Office

of the Attorney General
of the Republic

and the person
who found the b*llet

that was left forgotten
in Lomas Taurinas.

REPORTER: Around 1:00 p.m.,

former public security director
Federico Benítez

and his bodyguard Ramón Alarid
were shot dead.

They were attacked
by unknown individuals

from another moving vehicle.

Why was Mr. Benítez k*lled?

Because he knew the truth.

TIJUANA POLICE CHIEF

LAURA: He was the chief
of police there
in Baja California,

who had supposedly
been conducting
his own parallel investigation

into the assassination
of Colosio.

He knew that Mario was innocent.

That is why he was assassinated,
for no other reason.

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

It was striking that 16 deaths
occurred in the following years.

How is it possible
that so many key people

in the Colosio case died?

There were people who died
under different circumstances,

natural causes, in accidents,
or in the course of their work.

And it seems to me that a legend
has been generated around this.

♪ [OMINOUS MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

LAURA: However, Sánchez Ortega

could indeed resolve
many doubts,

especially because he was
an eyewitness.

Let us remember
that he himself declares

that he was 200 meters
from Luis Donaldo Colosio

in Lomas Taurinas.

♪ [DRAMATIC
THEME MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

The Office
of the Attorney General

of the Republic reported
that it sought an arrest warrant

against a former agent
of the now-defunct CISEN

and that he would be, in theory,
a second sh**ter in the m*rder

of Colosio Murrieta.

NATIONAL PALACE
MEXICO CITY

ANDRÉS MANUEL LÓPEZ OBRADOR:
All the investigations
were carried out here,

and it was demonstrated
that there was a second sh**ter.

♪ [TENSE MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

It turned out
that this second individual,

not Aburto...

was from CISEN.

The prosecutor's office
asks the judge

to issue the arrest warrant
against Sánchez Ortega

since the theory that eliminates
the lone-assassin hypothesis

is being substantiated.

That is,
that there is a co-conspirator

a second sh**ter,

who would be the former
national security agent.

♪ [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

LAURA: The reopening
of the case was taking place,

thanks to the testimony
of a woman named Leticia Ortiz,

the star witness
of this reopening.

This woman had allegedly been
an employee of the last place

where Mario Aburto worked,

the Cameros Magnéticos
maquiladora.

Mrs. Leticia Ortiz says
that one afternoon

she realizes that,
outside the maquiladora,

Mario Aburto
appears to make contact

with a man who shared

the same
physical characteristics

as Jorge Antonio Sánchez Ortega.

According to her, she never
really sees them talking,

but she does see them
exchange a glance

and head off
in the same direction.

A fact that had not
been mentioned

in her first statement,
which was taken

around the time
of the events of 1994.

It seems to me
that the prosecutor's office

interprets this detail
as confirmation

of a relationship
between Mario Aburto

and Jorge Antonio
Sánchez Ortega.

DID MARIO ABURTO AND
SÁNCHEZ ORTEGA KNOW EACH OTHER?

GABRIEL REGINO GARCÍA:
As a result of this pressure,

they naturally go on
to investigate...

A CRIME PLANNED IN ADVANCE

...who were responsible
for this Center
for Investigation

and National Security
in Baja California.

A new version of the events
begins to be investigated,

which adds
to all the official versions

that existed
between the years 1994 and 2000

from the other
prosecutors' offices.

And this one says

that a very important figure
was involved.

It was Genaro García Luna,
who during the administration

of Felipe Calderón

was Secretary
of Public Security.

♪ [SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

J. JESÚS LEMUS BARAJAS:
Who is Genaro García Luna?

He is the man who embodies
the Mexican political system.

He seems to be
on the side of the people,

it seems that his function
is to uphold the law,

but in reality, the only thing
he is doing is being corrupt

and making deals
with criminals.

MARIO ABURTO'S PRISON MATE

I began to investigate
Genaro García Luna

when I was in prison.

I try to understand who he is

and those answers
are given to me
by many prisoners,

many prisoners
who were his partners.

JOURNALIST AND POLITICAL ANALYST

He went to the prison
where El Chapo was,

and he disappeared
the day he arrived.

The leader of the Sinaloa Cartel
remains at large.

Many wonder
how he was able to escape

from the maximum-security prison
in Mexico.

NEWS ANCHOR: To this day
there are still doubts

about the alleged participation
of guards

in the escape
of the criminal leader.

J. JESÚS:
He is taken out of prison

by Genaro García Luna's team,

a group from the Federal
Investigation Agency.

They take him out dressed
as a police officer

and carry him away.

García Luna was the man
who was guarding,

not only guarding
Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán,

he took charge of eliminating,
with his forces,

all of El Chapo Guzmán's
competition.

GENARO GARCÍA LUNA
SENTENCED TO 38 YEARS
IN PRISON IN THE U.S.

LÓPEZ OBRADOR: Well, García Luna

in 1994,

already being
at a certain level,

is when he goes to Tijuana

to rescue the second sh**ter.

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

9 HOURS AFTER THE ATTACK

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
OF THE REPUBLIC

GABRIEL: At that time,
Genaro García Luna was in charge

of the Subdirectorate
of National Cases of CISEN.

LAURA: And it is he who learns
that one of his agents

is detained
in the facilities of the PGR.

This new version says
that they mobilize

to the city of Tijuana,

where they do
everything possible
to free Sánchez Ortega.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

GABRIEL: In a new statement

by the first person responsible,

who is the figure of
the delegate and his assistant,

they will indeed state

that Genaro García Luna
was in Tijuana.

Why hide this?
It is extremely serious.

♪ [INTRIGUING MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

The criminal cover-up
in which Genaro G.

was directly involved
is evident.

[GUESTS APPLAUDING]

LAURA: I am not sure
that Genaro García Luna

would have had
the power at that moment.

However,
it would not surprise me

that there had been
some kind of corruption

in the release
of Sánchez Ortega,

because the reality is that
it was a very quick release,

given the circumstances,
that the man
was stained with blood

and had tested positive

for gunpowder residue
on his hand.

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

It generated
a lot of speculation

because supposedly it occurred
before the legal period in which

he should have been
at the disposal

of the Public
Prosecutor's Office,

which was 48 hours.

The Office
of the Attorney General

of the Republic
failed in its attempt

to reopen the Colosio case
after a judge rejected issuing

an arrest warrant
against the former CISEN agent

tasked with covering
the presidential candidate

at the time of the attack
against him.

GABRIEL: The judge concludes
that Genaro García Luna

is not related to the extraction
of Sánchez Ortega

and that Ortiz's statement
is insufficient

to sustain a solid line
of investigation.

LAURA:
But I can tell you that,

for me,
Jorge Antonio Sánchez Ortega

was always a loose end.

♪ [PENSIVE MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

LAURA: And in the year 2022,

I received a message
through social media.

It was a source,
a person, who tells me

that Jorge Antonio
Sánchez Ortega left the country

and no longer lives in Mexico.

[INDISTINCT CHATTER]

LAURA: The reality
is that I devoted myself
to corroborating this source

and discovered
that he did, in fact,

worked in
the intelligence services

in the United States.

So I begin to pay
closer attention to this lead,

because I said, he knows
exactly Jorge's movements.

He begins to send me
information, for example,

about the facade of the house

where Sánchez Ortega
would supposedly be living.

A facade of a nice
single-story house,

with a gabled roof, pretty.

And little by little, he begins
to reveal to me the information

that he has been gathering
over the years,

through intelligence work.

And he tells me that
Jorge Antonio Sánchez Ortega

is living in Havana, Cuba...

that he had been there
for several years,

that he had left Mexico
out of fear,

and that he currently lived
in a wealthy neighborhood

in Cuba, very close
to Raúl Castro's house.

♪ [TENSE MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

LAURA:
It does not surprise me at all

that Jorge
Antonio Sánchez Ortega

was not in Mexico

because I had
received information
from other witnesses

who claim to have
had some relationship

with the Colosio case

and who have begun
to seek asylum.

FORMER OFFICER:
I feel like I'm in danger.

That is why
I want to fix my situation

in the United States
so as not to have
to return to Mexico.

The people I fear
are the people from the PRI,

because, in reality,
that security operation

was organized by them.

They recruited us
to incriminate us,

to confuse everything,

and, perhaps, to hide
the true person responsible.

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

MADRID, SPAIN

CARLOS SALINAS DE GORTARI:
I made the decision

to absent myself voluntarily.

The country had changed,
the world had changed.

And those who were accustomed

to the old ways
were unsettled by it,

it made them uncomfortable,

and moreover
it greatly got in their way.

Carlos Salinas de Gortari
went into exile

after his brother
was put in jail.

It was part of the pact,

"We are going to keep
your brother well taken care of

in Almoloya, you go over there,

we are not going to go after you

or anyone else
in your government

as long as you keep quiet."

It is not easy.

Mexico is always
present within me,

and will remain present
for the rest of my life.

I was the journalist
with whom Carlos Salinas

broke his silence
while he was in exile.

I did his interview.

CSG DENOUNCES A PLOT
IN COLOSIO’S SUCCESSION

And what did he say
in that interview?

Something very important.

"The nomenclature
k*lled Colosio for me."

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

RAMÓN GARZA: What was
Carlos Salinas referring to?

That the old PRI
had k*lled him. Why?

Because they were
no longer willing
to be kept in the freezer

for a sixth consecutive term.
They had no room to maneuver.

It is clear that,
in one way or another,

something was plotted here...

♪ [INTRIGUING MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

...but that matter
could never be proven.

MEXICO CITY

JESÚS: Mario Aburto had been
waiting a long time

for the Supreme Court

to be reconstituted again
and to take up his issue,

his case, and rule on it.

30 YEARS AFTER THE m*rder

PRESIDENT OF THE CHAMBER: I beg
Justice Gutiérrez Ortiz Mena

to take charge of the presidency
and occupy this position.

SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE
OF THE NATION

JESÚS: We hope that the vote
will be favorable

for Mario Aburto,

but the Supreme Court
is unpredictable.

If the amparo is not accepted,

he will spend
another 15 years in prison.

If it is accepted,
he is released immediately.

PRESIDENT OF THE CHAMBER:
The identifying data are omitted

as they are
considered sensitive.

The draft decision
proposes, first,

that the challenged judgment
be revoked.

Second, that the proceedings
be reinstated

in the amparo trial

from which the present motion
for review derives,

for the legal effects specified
in this ruling.

-Take the vote, please.
-Madam Justice Ortiz.

In favor.

-Mr. Justice González
Alcántara Carrancá.
-In favor.

-Madam Justice Ríos Farjat.
-Against.

One of the justices said
that it was necessary to notify

the children of Luis Donaldo

as to whether
they had an interest or not

because they were not called

to intervene
in the amparo trial.

So, they sent
that amparo ruling back

to the Superior Court
of Justice,

which interrupted
the entire process,

to the detriment
of Mario Aburto.

♪ [TENSE MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

COLOSIO CASE 23 OCTOBER 2024

SUPREME COURT ORDERS
MARIO ABURTO
TO REMAIN IN PRISON

JOSÉ LUIS: They are shelving it
and continuing and continuing

and continuing
for political purposes.

Mario is being used
merely for the benefits

of the dirty politics they have.

What is going to happen
and how is this going to end?

We cannot even predict it yet.

It is impossible to say
whether it will be in two,

three, five months,
a year, or two.

That is the truth.

They knew beforehand
that Mario was innocent.

And they do not
want to accept it

because they have
to have someone

to present to the Mexican people
and to the world

as the one
who assassinated Colosio.

-I still have mixed feelings.
-♪ [SOMBER MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

Perhaps, I have not
fully forgiven him.

Why? Because he took
my brother from me.

COLOSIO'S SISTER

Because he stole the life
of a decent man,

a good man, a clean politician,

a politician who had a straight,
upright career path,

who was going to do good
for his people.

[CROWD CHEERING, APPLAUDING]

It was an absurd,
violent, cruel death.

An assassin was locked up...

but is the family satisfied?
Well, no.

My father always said it.

We never believed
in the lone-assassin version.

LUIS COLOSIO FERNÁNDEZ: I share,
along with millions of Mexicans,

the thesis that there is
no lone assassin...

COLOSIO'S FATHER

...that the crime
was a plot derived

from the struggle for power.

♪ [INTENSE THEME
MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

In Tijuana, the Office
of the Attorney General

of the Republic detained,


an agent
of the now-defunct CISEN,

identified as the alleged
second sh**ter

in the case
of Luis Donaldo Colosio in 1994.

LAURA: I was very surprised
by the arrest

of Jorge Antonio Sánchez Ortega.

I learned about this arrest
over the weekend in the morning.

The news had begun
to circulate since dawn...

FORMER CISEN AGENT ARRESTED
IN CONNECTION WITH COLOSIO CASE

...and a great many people
began sending it to me,

knowing that I have
been investigating
the Colosio case for many years.

THE COLOSIO CASE IS REVIVED

What began circulating
in the media

was the transfer record

from the National Security
Secretariat in Mexico,

which stated that Jorge Antonio
Sánchez Ortega

had been detained
in the Los Reyes neighborhood

over in the eastern part
of Tijuana.

We learned some details,

such as that
he was 64 years old,

that he was retired,
that he had a pension of 25,000,

which was quite high
for being part of CISEN.

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

GABRIEL: The judge who had
ruled to deny the arrest warrant

was reassigned,

and a new one arrived
who had to rule immediately.

♪ [TENSE MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

PRISON SENTENCE AGAINST
JORGE ANTONIO SÁNCHEZ ORTEGA

GABRIEL: Sánchez Ortega
was detained less than 24 hours

after the arrest warrant
was issued.

That speed implies

that he was
under close surveillance

by agents of the Office
of the Attorney General

of the Republic

who were only waiting
to have the mandate

to proceed with his capture.

It seems very difficult, for me,
to understand that,



and after all possible
conspiracy theories

were discarded,

we would now have
a man in prison,

in a maximum-security prison,
as if it were 1994.

A man whom all the prosecutors'
offices had concluded

that there was not sufficient
evidence to incarcerate.

Now, the Office
of the Attorney General
of the Republic

substantially modified
its strategy.

We are going to present
the expert reports

that establish

that there had to have been
a second sh**ter.

Now, they say
that the turn did not exist.

OFFICIAL RECREATION

According
to the prosecutor's hypothesis,

Sánchez Ortega would have
been on his left

in order to have carried out
the second shot.

LAURA: However, Jorge Antonio
Sánchez Ortega

still does not
appear in the videos

or in the images from the day
of the assassination.

[INDISTINCT CLAMOR]

LAURA: But now the Office
of the Attorney General

of the Republic
has a justification

that I truly cannot understand
how a judge accepts.

They say that Jorge Antonio
Sánchez Ortega

was probably so close

and leaning forward
that that is why

he cannot be seen in the video,
because he was crouched down.

TACTICAL TRAINING
AND PREPARATION MAY INFLUENCE...

They also say that probably
all of his experience

as a CISEN agent

was what allowed him
to slip away

among the entire crowd

and within that bustle
of people.

His first statement
before the judge is given

while he is deprived
of his liberty.

He did not want
to declare absolutely anything,

he reserved the right
to remain silent.

For Sánchez Ortega,
prosecutors could have asked

about his participation
in the events,

where he was, what he saw, etc.

But instead,
they begin to ask him

about the chain of command.

For example, they ask him things

such as whether
he knew Tello Peón,

who was the director of CISEN,

whether he had seen him
at any time,

for example,
in Tijuana, Baja California.

GABRIEL:
Who else do they ask him about?

About the favorite villain,
Genaro García Luna.

WHILE YOU WERE IN DETENTION,
DID YOU EVER SEE
ENGINEER GENARO GARCÍA LUNA?

These kinds of questions
allow us to infer

that this construction

of the case
against Sánchez Ortega

may have

a greater political intention.

♪ [INTRIGUING MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

SALINAS DE GOTARI: In politics,
there are no coincidences.

In this instance,
there are too many
for it not to suggest

that too many interests,

uh, converged to cut short
a great life,

derail a project, and put
an end to a peace process.

LAURA: I believe
that the Colosio case
is a crime of State,

not because Carlos Salinas
de Gortari ordered

Mario Aburto to k*ll Colosio,

or because it was done
by some other figure

in Mexican politics
at that time.

I believe it becomes
a crime of State

when you investigate poorly,
when you violate human rights,

when people unrelated

to the assassination
are sexually abused,

and when, above all,

a historical truth
is constructed

that omits important passages

that would link other
important figures to the case.

It is here where I believe
in the crime of State

and in the construction
from the State to tell the story

in whatever way best suits them.

From the failed
initial investigation

to the recent reopening
of the case,

everyone has made
political use of it.

ERNESTO ZEDILLO PONCE DE LEÓN:
Yesterday we culminated

with the triumph of a campaign

initiated under the leadership
of Luis Donaldo Colosio.

ENRIQUE PEÑA NIETO:
Today marks 66 years

since the birth
of a distinguished son

of Sonora and a great Mexican,

Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta.

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM PARDO:
I believe that the Colosio case
is a matter of State.

Having found the second sh**ter,

it is important
that it be clarified.

There is a breaking point before

and after
the assassination of Colosio.

This country changed radically
in every respect.

[INDISTINCT CLAMOR]

RAMÓN: The balances
of power were disrupted.

When a b*llet enters democracy,
democracy no longer exists.

[INDISTINCT CLAMOR]

What exists are interests,

and today what we are living
is the hangover.

They meddled with the country's
political situation so much

that it slipped out
of our hands.

Talking with you
I feel at peace,

but I can also tell you
that I feel anger again.

I feel indignation again.

And if we are asked
what we would want, well,

that real justice be done
for Luis Donaldo.

LAURA: For me,
there is a super-impactful scene

that has affected me
all these years,

and it is that
the Lomas Taurinas neighborhood

remains abandoned,
quite abandoned.

It is only swept
and cleaned every March 23,

when PRI politicians
can go take a photo

and profit from the image

and the memory
of Luis Donaldo Colosio.

PLAZA OF UNITY AND HOPE

♪ [MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪

LUIS DONALDO COLOSIO WAS
ASSASSINATED AT THE AGE OF 44.

HIS WIFE, DIANA LAURA RIOJAS,
DIED EIGHT MONTHS LATER.

THE COUPLE LEFT TWO CHILDREN:
LUIS DONALDO,
NOW DEDICATED TO POLITICS,

AND MARIANA, WHO HAS
STAYED AWAY FROM PUBLIC LIFE.

MARIO ABURTO MARTÍNEZ
IS THE ONLY PERSON
CONVICTED FOR THE ASSASSINATION.

HE REMAINS IN A MAXIMUM-SECURITY
PRISON IN GUANAJUATO.

IF HIS LEGAL APPEALS
ARE REJECTED,

HE COULD OBTAIN HIS RELEASE
IN 2039 AT THE AGE OF 68.

AT THE CONCLUSION
OF THIS DOCUMENTARY,

JORGE ANTONIO SÁNCHEZ ORTEGA
REMAINS HELD

IN THE MAXIMUM-SECURITY PRISON
OF EL ALTIPLANO.

IF CONVICTED AS A CO-PERPETRATOR
OF THE ASSASSINATION,

HE WOULD FACE A SENTENCE OF
BETWEEN 40 AND 50 YEARS

STATEMENTS MADE BY PARTICIPANTS
DO NOT REPRESENT THE VIEWS

OF THE PRODUCTION COMPANY
OR DISTRIBUTORS

♪ [CLOSING
THEME MUSIC PLAYING] ♪

♪ [THEME MUSIC CONCLUDES] ♪