A Total of 19 People Arrested in Mexico for the Theft of a Baby’s Body

A total of 19 people were arrested in connection with the case of the body of a baby that was found in the garbage of a prison after being stolen from a cemetery in the City of Mexico, reported this Monday the Attorney General of the state of Puebla.

In a statement, the Prosecutor’s Office of the central state of Puebla said that after the investigations it has carried out, the institution requested, obtained and “fulfilled arrest warrants against personnel from the Social Reintegration Center (Cereso, penitentiary) of San Miguel -in the city of Puebla capital-, including managerial levels”.

In addition, the institution specified that the crimes for which the 19 people are being investigated are abuse of authority or breach of duty, violations of laws and regulations on burials and exhumations, and cover-up.

The Prosecutor’s Office indicated that it will continue with the investigation until the facts for which it initiated proceedings on January 10 are fully clarified.

The case of Tadeo, born on October 4, 2021, has shaken Mexico for two weeks, when an inmate found the baby’s body covered with lime and inside a bag in the recyclable plastic containers.

The baby, who had been buried in a cemetery in the Iztapalapa area, in the southeast of Mexico City, had a wound in the abdomen, so one of the initial hypotheses was that his body had been used to transport drugs.

Later it was clarified that the wound corresponded to an operation that was performed on the minor, who died on January 5 due to intestinal problems in Mexico City.

His parents learned of the fact through press reports, which indicated that the baby wore a bracelet on his left wrist with their surnames.

The case has sparked scrutiny against the federal government because the rulers of Puebla, Mexico City and the Iztapalapa mayor’s office all belong to the ruling National Regeneration Movement (Morena).

This Monday, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, questioned by the press on the matter, replied that the case is a “rotten fruit of social decomposition, they are unfortunate events that should not happen and have to do with the recent past”, in reference to “neoliberal governments”.

The fact has also raised controversy because the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) refused to investigate the case, while the governor of Puebla, Miguel Barbosa, warned journalists and activists to “be careful” when investigating the story.