On Tuesday, July 7, 2026, the First Collegiate Court in Criminal Appeals, based in the State of Mexico, ordered the immediate release of Jorge Antonio Sánchez Ortega, accused as the second shooter in the 1994 assassination of Luis Donaldo Colosio. The court dismissed the arguments presented by the Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR), ruling that the criminal action against Sánchez had expired since 2015, despite the FGR reopening investigations only in 2021 and pressing charges as late as 2023.

The ruling, signed by magistrates Sara Olimpia Reyes García, Karla Guadalupe Pinedo Magaña, and Josué Osvaldo Garduño Sánchez, declared that the prosecution for intentional homicide against Sánchez Ortega was time-barred. Consequently, the court revoked the formal imprisonment order issued on November 15, 2025, by the Fourth District Criminal Judge in the State of Mexico, and mandated Sánchez Ortega’s immediate freedom regarding the accusation of involvement in the killing of the then-presidential candidate in the Lomas Taurinas neighborhood of Tijuana, Baja California.

Key points from the court’s decision include:
– The statute of limitations for the case expired no later than March 23, 2015, well before the FGR’s 2021 recommendation, the 2022 case reopening, and the charges filed in 2023 and 2025.
– The FGR failed to prove Sánchez Ortega’s intent or knowledge of a coordinated plan with Mario Aburto Martínez, who was sentenced to 45 years as the material assassin.
– Evidence was insufficient to attribute premeditation or treachery to Sánchez Ortega, though the court did not entirely rule out his possible involvement in the homicide at this stage.
– Video recordings and forensic reports confirmed two shots fired from different positions during a crowded event but did not establish that Sánchez Ortega knew of or coordinated with the other shooter.
– The physical and temporal proximity of the shots does not prove a synchronized or prearranged attack.
– Sánchez Ortega, who worked in March 1994 for the then National Security Investigation Center (Cisen, now National Intelligence Center), was not shown to have known the other shooter’s location, timing, or the security arrangements of the victim.

This ruling highlights the challenges in prosecuting decades-old cases where evidence and procedural timing critically affect justice outcomes. For those following Mexico’s complex political history, the decision underscores ongoing debates about accountability and the limits of the legal system in high-profile crimes.