Mexico arrests drug gang leader in missing students case

Mexican authorities announced the arrest of the “maximum leader” of a drug gang accused of colluding with crooked police in the disappearance of 43 college students. Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said the arrest of Guerreros Unidos kingpin Sidronio Casarrubias would open a “new line of investigation that can quickly and more easily get us closer to the truth” in the case. The announcement came hours after thousands of protesters marched in Acapulco to demand the safe return of the young men, who went missing in the southern state of Guerrero three weeks ago.

We are angry because this is not an isolated event. Many of us are parents and we see very ugly things in this country that we want to fight.

Magdalena Catalan, a 34-year-old teacher

Authorities say the gang worked hand-in-hand with corrupt municipal officers in a night of violence in the city of Iguala on September 26 that left six people dead and the 43 aspiring teachers missing. Iguala’s officers shot at the students’ buses and then handed them to their counterparts in the neighboring town of Cocula. Casarrubias denied ordering the attack on the students but was informed when it happened and did nothing to stop it. A total of 36 municipal officers have been arrested in the case, along with 17 Guerreros Unidos members and their boss.

Americas casarrubias