Mexico’s federal prosecutor’s office reported Thursday the arrest of former Guerrero Governor Ángel Aguirre for his alleged involvement in the disappearance of 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College in September 2014.
In a brief statement on social media, prosecutors said Aguirre is accused of “concealing evidence to determine the whereabouts of the students.”
The former governor, a member of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD) —the party from which the ruling Morena party emerged— is the highest-ranking official to be arrested in connection with the case since former federal prosecutor Jesús Murillo Karam. The Ayotzinapa case has caused widespread outrage both inside and outside Mexico.
Murillo Karam is facing criminal proceedings for forced disappearance, obstruction of justice, and torture related to the disappearance of the 43 students.
Aguirre governed Guerrero from 2011 until October 2014, one month after the attack. The administration of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (2018–2024) later described the case as a “state crime.”
According to Mexican authorities, a local cartel in Iguala attacked the students while allegedly acting in collusion with security forces and local, state, and federal authorities, including members of the military.
More than a decade after the events, the case remains unresolved. After three presidential administrations, dozens of arrests, and an investigation marked by irregularities, many questions remain unanswered.
Authorities believe the students were killed, but only bone fragments belonging to three of them have been identified. The motive behind the attack also remains unclear, although investigators believe it may have been connected to heroin trafficking in the region.
Source: latimes
