Former Guerrero state governor Angel Aguirre has been arrested in Mexico on charges of concealing evidence in the 2014 disappearance of 43 students. The attorney general's office announced the arrest on Thursday. Prosecutors accused Aguirre of potential complicity in hiding evidence regarding the victims' fate.
The 43 college students from Ayotzinapa vanished on September 26, 2014, in the southern state of Guerrero. They were traveling by bus to the capital to join a demonstration. The case shocked the country and remains unsolved.
Dozens of people faced prosecution over the disappearances, but no one was convicted. The whereabouts of the victims remain unknown, with authorities confirming the discovery of only three bodies to date.
Investigation history
Aguirre served as governor of Guerrero during the disappearances. The 70-year-old took leave in October 2014 and resigned from office before completing his term, remaining on the sidelines ever since.
An initial investigation under former president Enrique Peña Nieto, who governed from 2012 to 2018, concluded that the students' bodies were burned and their ashes thrown into a river in Guerrero. His successor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who served from 2018 to 2024, ordered a new investigation and viewed the case as a state crime. Both inquiries agreed that a gang employing local police officers attacked the students.
Current president Claudia Sheinbaum has made resolving the case a priority for her administration. She said her goals are to uncover the truth, deliver justice, and locate the young people nearly 12 years after their disappearance.
