November 4, 2014
Mariah Timms
News Writer
World
A fugitive Mexican mayor and his wife were arrested in Mexico City Tuesday after they fled from the western state of Guerrero. Jose Luis Abarca and Maria de los Angeles Pineda have been accused of provoking the disappearance of 43 students from a teachers’ college in late September. The students are presumed dead at this point. In response to the disappearance and animosity towards the mayoral couple, Guerrero government buildings have been set on fire and protest marches drawing tens of thousands of participants so far. The Washington Post reports that the missing students were on their way to a protest at the same time the mayor’s wife was giving a speech. Abarca allegedly told police to stop the protestors, and they opened fire, killing six. The students were then reportedly passed to a drug gang working with the police, after which point there whereabouts are unknown. The Guerrero governor has resigned over the issue.
