On September 6, 1979, the Juárez Penitentiary in Mérida, Yucatán, was the scene of a riot that shocked local society. Three inmates, identified as Sergio Pérez Cortés, Francisco López Durán, and Jesús Jiménez García, rioted around 10:30 in the morning, armed with guns, grenades, and dynamite.
The inmates took 23 people hostage, including officials of the Judiciary employees of the courts that operated within the prison, and trial lawyers, demanding their freedom in exchange for the release of the captives.
Given the seriousness of the situation, local authorities requested federal support. Miguel Nazar Haro, then director of the Federal Security Directorate (DFS), arrived from Mexico City to assume control of the operation, displacing local authorities.
Nazar Haro and the Mexican repression agency
Nazar Haro (1924 – 2012) was an official who led the DFS from 1978 to 1982. During his management, the DFS was involved in the so-called “Dirty War”, a period in which the Mexican government carried out repressive actions against leftist movements and political opponents.
Before leading the DFS, Nazar Haro worked under Fernando Gutiérrez Barrios, who was also head of the DFS. His career in intelligence and security positioned him as a key figure in government strategies to counter insurgent and dissident movements.
In addition to his role in political repression, Nazar Haro was involved in criminal activities. An FBI investigation revealed his involvement in a car theft ring that operated between the United States and Mexico. The CIA, which considered him a valuable asset, intervened to avoid his prosecution, which demonstrated the agency’s tolerance for corruption among its collaborators.
For its part, the DFS was an intelligence and security agency of the Mexican government, created in 1947 during the presidency of Miguel Alemán Valdés. Its objective was to safeguard Mexican politics and national security against international threats.
Over time, it became a political police in charge of eradicating movements, people, or ideologies that the Mexican State considered threatening. The agency was also the subject of controversy due to corruption and the infiltration of organized crime into its ranks. These practices led to its dissolution in 1985, during the presidency of Miguel de la Madrid.
The hostages rebel
After hours of tension and negotiations, the hostages rebelled and, after a physical confrontation, the inmates were subdued and surrendered.
The mutineers suffered injuries as a result of their confrontation with their hostages. Several photographs after their surrender show them leaving the penitentiary on their own, with traces of blows, but without injuries that endangered their lives.
The three prisoners were transferred to O’Horán Hospital to receive medical attention. However, later, their lifeless bodies appeared in the bed of a truck at the doors of the hospital, showing multiple gunshot wounds and signs of torture. Isidro Ávila Villacís, a photographer for what was then the most important newspaper in Yucatán, managed to take several photos of the corpses of the prisoners.
Federal authorities argued that the inmates had been injured during the confrontation at the prison, but the evidence suggested an extrajudicial execution. This incident generated outrage in the Yucatecan community. Photographs of the bloody bodies were published in local media, provoking revulsion and criticism of the authorities.
A criminal complaint, 25 years late
Years later, in 2004, José Luis Sierra Villarreal, a former guerrilla and then researcher at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), filed a complaint with the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Social and Political Movements of the Past (Femospp) for the murder of the three prisoners, pointing to Miguel Nazar Haro as responsible for the executions.
In 2004, Nazar was arrested on charges of being involved in the disappearance of alleged guerrillas during the Dirty War. However, in 2006, the charges were dropped and he was released.
This riot and its consequences highlight a dark period in the history of Yucatán, evidencing repressive practices and human rights violations that still resonate in the collective memory of the region.
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