PRI Senator Admits Error in Sánchez Nava Case

(Chilpancingo, JG 22 January) When PRD official Guillermo Sánchez Nava was brutally beaten two weeks ago, veteran PRI Senator Fernando Castro Trenti loyally denied any involvement of his party. Instead, he intimated that the victim’s injuries were probably exaggerated or falsified, and that the PRD was “making theater” as part of a “dirty war” against the PRI. Yesterday, he back-pedaled from that embarrassingly crass position in the face of widespread shock at the event and confirmation of the critical condition of Sánchez Nava. Trenti blamed “the opacity” of the State Attorney General’s office for misleading him, and remained unrepentant about his “error” on the facts. Senator Trenti is the PRI’s number two leader in the federal Senate and hails from Tijuana.

Trenti was also asked about the bold assertion two days ago by the PRI’s IEEG representative, Roberto Torres. Torres blamed the “dirty trick” of the false front page of the Jornada Guerrero on a director of the newspaper itself, former mayor Felix Salgado Macedonio. When asked why the newspaper would counterfeit its own publication and try to damage the candidate they formally endorse, Trenti staunchly argued that it was a “reverse dirty trick,” done just to cause trouble and make people think the PRI violates the election laws. He added that, during the debate, Añorve accused Salgado’s administration as having bankrupted CAPAMA, the hapless local water utility. He said, “Perhaps, Felix Salgado was so upset at that moment that he did that.” Why Salgado’s revenge against Añorve would take the form of hurting his opponent was a logical link the senator did not make.