Mexico presents list of prisoners who could get amnesty

MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s Interior Department has received a first list of prisoners who might be eligible for the amnesty promised by new leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Sen. Nestora Salgado has handed over a list of 180 men and 19 women. She described most as activists unfairly detained for defending people’s rights.

Interior Secretary Olga Sanchez Cordero said Friday the amnesty wouldn’t be automatic, and might amount to simply expediting the cases already near resolution in court.

The list includes people like anti-dam activist Marco Antonio Suastegui, who faces homicide charges for his role in a January 2018 confrontation that killed 8 villagers in southern Guerrero state.

Both sides said they were defending themselves, but Suastegui’s anti-dam forces lost two dead, while six of those who opposed his movement were killed.