A suspected drug cartel leader allegedly connected to the disappearance of 43 college students a decade ago has been arrested in Mexico after his release from prison in 2019, authorities announced on Friday.
According to AFP on Saturday, Gildardo Lopez Astudillo, known as “El Gil,” is believed to be a leader of the Guerreros Unidos cartel and is accused of orchestrating the disappearance and suspected murder of the students from Ayotzinapa teachers’ college in 2014.
López Astudillo was originally arrested in September 2015 in Taxco, Guerrero state, about 35 km (21 miles) north of Iguala, the town where the students went missing. “Gildardo Lopez Astudillo was detained,” a federal security source told reporters on Friday, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.
López Astudillo has been transferred to the Altiplano maximum security prison in Mexico State, according to the source. He was arrested on charges of “organized crime,” though the investigation may be expanded, the source added.
In September 2014, the 43 students were en route to a political demonstration in Mexico City when investigators believe they were kidnapped by the drug cartel in collusion with corrupt police.
The exact circumstances of their disappearance remain unknown, but a truth commission established by the government has labeled the case a “state crime,” attributing shared responsibility to the military, either directly or through negligence.
Dozens of suspects have been arrested or ordered for arrest, including military personnel and a former attorney general who led a controversial investigation into the mass disappearance. Only a few of the victims’ remains have been identified.
López Astudillo was released in 2019, a decision condemned by the families of the missing students, after a judge ruled that the evidence against him had been obtained illegally. His recent arrest coincides with relatives preparing demonstrations to mark the anniversary of the students’ disappearance.
