On Wednesday, Mexican officials issued arrest warrants for the mayor of Iguala and his wife. Jose Luis Abarca and his wife Maria de los Angeles Pineda Villa are suspected to be the “masterminds” of the disappearance of the 43 student teachers last month.
The Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said on Wednesday, “We have issued warrants for the arrest of Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca, his wife Mrs Pineda Villa and police chief Felipe Flores Velazquez, as probable masterminds of the events that occurred in Iguala on September 26.”
Guerreros Unidos, or United Warriors, is the drug cartel associated with the abduction of the 43 students last month. The students were attacked by police and gang members in the middle of the road in Iguala on their way back from a fundraiser for their tuition. None of their bodies have been recovered. Around 50 individuals, including over 20 police officers and the police chief, have been arrested for the disappearance of the students.
According to the Associated Press, Attorney General Murillo stated that Abarca had ordered police forces to arrest the student teachers on their way back from the fundraiser. The students were known to protest vocally and cause disruption in the city. Murillo also stated that Abarca’s wife, Pineda, is heavily connected with Guerreros Unidos. Sidriono Casarrubias, the leader of the drug cartel who was arrested last week, claimed that Pineda was a “main operator of criminal activity” in the city.
After the police arrested the students, they handed them over to the drug cartel which then transported the students to the limits of the city. Murillo said that the Guerreros Unidos were mistakenly told that the students were associated with a rival gang.
AP also reported that Abarca had received bribes between $100,000 and $200,000 monthly from Guerreros Unidos. The drug cartel is known to receive most of their profits from opium operations.
