“We have never seen real justice, to this day,” Pérez said, adding that victims’ relatives have been denied access to case files, which is their right in Mexico.Īs the years pass, the families fear the case will get less and less attention. Mexico’s notoriously generous injunction system allows suspects to freeze the actions of authorities on they grounds they might violate their rights. Many of the suspects have sought court injunctions that Pérez fears may result in them never being brought to justice. The official said the investigation remains open. Those charges were for the guns they were carrying at the time they were arrested. But a federal official, who was not authorized to be quoted by name, confirmed that only five of the suspects had been convicted and just on weapons charges not directly related to the casino fire. Within weeks, authorities had detained 17 suspects in the attack. “It wasn’t until many hours later that I found out my son had died.” Pérez, who has served as a spokeswoman for the victims’ families, said a decade-long nightmare began that day. I couldn’t find him, the chaos broke out immediately.”

“It didn’t last long, we didn’t know it was gasoline until the smoke started,” she said.

“I heard a commotion, I turned around and I saw a man hit a woman with gun,” Pérez recalled. Within seconds, a peaceful day at the casino turned into pandemonium. Pérez recalled the moment when armed men burst in and began to douse the casino with gasoline.

Tragedia en el casino royale