Mexican gang admits killing students

This item appears on page 69 of the January 2015 issue.

In Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico, three of the arrested members of the Guerreros Unidos gang have admitted to killing 43 students from a teaching college in Iguala who have been missing since Sept. 26. Remains discovered near where the gang members said they had disposed of the bodies are being genetically tested.

Soon after the students went missing, arrest warrants were issued for Iguala’s mayor and his wife and for the town’s chief of police, who were accused of organizing the abduction and murders of the students. The, now, former mayor of Iguala and his wife were arrested on Nov. 4 after a nationwide search. At press time, the police chief was still missing.

The governor of Guerrero resigned on Oct. 23.

Protests in support of the students and their families have at times become violent. On Nov. 9, protesters attacked the National Palace in Mexico City, setting fire to the front doors. On Nov. 11, protesters blocked access to the Acapulco Airport for three hours. On Nov. 12, the governing body headquarters in Chilpancingo, capital of the state of Guerrero, were attacked and sections of the interior were set on fire. 

Three protests in Mexico City on Nov. 20 converged in the main square as caravans carrying the families of the missing students arrived in the capital. The gathering was mostly peaceful, though police used a water cannon to push protesters back from the presidential palace.