How Jesús Piedra Ibarra's Case Exposed Mexico's Dirty War
Mexico's Dirty War claimed Jesús Piedra Ibarra, a student activist. His mother, Rosario, refused silence and sparked a movement (Comité Eureka) fighting disappearances. Hunger strikes and public pressure led to amnesty laws, but not Jesús' return.
Jesús Piedra de Ibarra was born on February 17, 1954, son of activist Rosario Ibarra de Piedra and Dr. Jesús Piedra Rosales. He studied medicine at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, where he showed interest in leftist thought. He actively participated in several student organizations before joining La Liga Comunista 23 de Septiembre, where he was known as “Rafa” or “Rafita”. Within this organization, he participated in various armed confrontations between the league and the Nuevo León authorities, as well as with the DFS.
On April 18, 1975, was the last time he was seen alive and his whereabouts are known, since the only thing known is that he was detained by the Federal Security Directorate, with no further information about him since then. Initially, the DFS denied having detained Ibarra. However, thanks to the mobilizations led by his mother, Rosario Ibarra, demanding the presentation of her son alive and in favor of all the disappeared in the country, and after confrontations with Luis Echeverría and Nazar Haro, it was confirmed that the DFS had detained Jesús. This was registered in a report of the directorate created in April 1975 in which it is mentioned “Jesús Piedra Ibarra (a) ‘Rafael’, who was apprehended yesterday”.
