Tzompaxtle Tecpile case Inter-American Court compliance Mexico, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico): The Mexican state still has five of the eight reparation measures ordered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) pending in the case of Jorge Marcial Tzompaxtle Tecpile, Gerardo Tzompaxtle Tecpile and Gustavo Robles López. The three men were arbitrarily detained in January 2006 and subjected to preventive detention and arraigo for more than two years.
Among the unmet obligations are eliminating pre-trial arraigo, adjusting legislation on preventive detention, holding a public act acknowledging international responsibility, and guaranteeing medical and psychological care for the victims.
The international court reviewed the situation in a supervision resolution dated October 15, 2026, in which it kept the compliance procedure for the judgment open. Mexico must present an updated report on the measures adopted no later than March 1, 2027.
The case dates back to January 12, 2006, when Jorge Marcial and Gerardo Tzompaxtle Tecpile, together with Gustavo Robles López, were detained by police officers on the Mexico-Veracruz highway. During the criminal proceedings they were deprived of their liberty, held incommunicado, and subjected to arraigo for more than three months, in addition to more than two years of preventive detention.
In its judgment of November 7, 2022, notified to the Mexican state in January 2023, the Inter-American Court determined that the victims’ rights to personal liberty and personal integrity, judicial guarantees and judicial protection had been violated. The court therefore ordered comprehensive reparation measures for the victims and changes to the Mexican legal framework to prevent similar situations.
The Red Solidaria Década Contra la Impunidad, a civil organization representing and supporting the victims, questioned the Mexican state’s retention of legal figures that the court ordered be aligned with international human rights standards. The organization said arraigo remains provided for in Article 16 of the Constitution for organized crime cases, despite the obligation to eliminate provisions relating to its pre-trial application.
The group also criticized the expansion of the list of crimes that warrant automatic preventive detention through the reform to Article 19 of the Constitution published December 31, 2024. According to the organization, the change added new offenses to the automatic application of this precautionary measure, deepening a problem the Inter-American Court had already identified in the case.
The Red Solidaria argued that each reform expanding this measure not only fails to comply with the judgment but deepens the violations declared by the international tribunal. It warned that more people are now exposed to remaining deprived of liberty without a judge individually assessing whether that measure is necessary, as occurred with Jorge Marcial, Gerardo and Gustavo.
