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Eight ex-officials stand trial over Mexico subway collapse

#exofficials #stand #trial #Mexico #subway #collapse

Eight former officers are being prosecuted for a subway accident in Mexico City last year that killed 26 people and injured dozens, a lawyer said Wednesday.

A judge at a hearing found there were sufficient grounds for the defendants to face trial, Teofilo Benitez, who represents some of the victims, told reporters.

The former officers were responsible for the construction, design and safety of the damaged section and are facing charges of manslaughter, among other charges.

Victims’ loved ones have called for justice for the disaster that saw a raised section of track collapse in May 2021, causing a passenger train to crash.

An investigation commissioned by the city hall by Norwegian engineering firm DNV concluded that the accident was caused by structural defects, including problems with beams and bolts.

The defendants served during the tenure of then-Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, now Secretary of State and candidate to succeed President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in 2024.

The damaged line was built and inaugurated under Ebrard, who was mayor from 2006 to 2012.

No official serving under current Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, another presidential hopeful, has been charged in connection with the crash.

A lawyer for some of the defendants has alleged an attempt to protect Sheinbaum’s political career.

“If the true cause of Line 12’s tragedy were investigated… the case would escalate to the current mayor and hurt her presidential ambitions,” Gabriel Regino tweeted last week.

In May, Sheinbaum’s government dismissed DNV’s conclusions, saying they contained various “deficiencies and inconsistencies”.

Sheinbaum criticized DNV’s final report as “poorly done” and “used for political purposes”.

According to leaks of the report, experts pointed to lack of maintenance as one of the reasons for the collapse, which would raise questions for Sheinbaum, who took office in 2018.

Lopez Obrador was quick to defend his ally and potential successor, describing her as “a sincere and honest woman.”

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