Nabbed in Mexico: police capture suspected drug trafficker in mystery massacre of 43 students

Federal authorities allegedly captured a high-ranking drug cartel member Gildardo Lopez Astudillo who has been implicated in last year’s disappearance of 43 college students in the southern state of Guerrero. Lopez who goes by alias “El Gil,” allegedly thought the students were rivals gang members and ordered their bodies burned and ashes thrown in a river.

We turned them into dust and threw them in the water. They will never be found.

Lopez’ call to his boss, the day after the alleged massacre.

The report of Lopez’ arrest comes the day after Attorney General Arely Gomez announced that Austrian forensic experts had identified a possible match for a second victim. Previously, only one of the 43 student teachers has been identified from badly charred remains the government said were found at the dump site. Lopez alleged capture could raise hopes that more details will be revealed in an incident that sparked a national outcry and created a major political headache for Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

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