Mexico - Former Iguala mayor formally charged with the kidnapping of 43 students

by Lucio for Borderland Beat

There has been a formal arrest warrant issued for former Iguala, Guerrero mayor, Jose Luis Abarca, along with 44 others for charges of kidnapping of 43 kidnapped and missing normalistas (students) on September 26th 2014.

This was announced by Tomas Zeron, of the federal general attorney’s office.  He did not state when the warrant was issued.  

Although Abarca was charged with crimes connected with organized crime activities, these are the first charges that are directly related to the September Iguala attacks, and kidnapping of the 43 students.

It is suspected that .Abarca directed the municipal police, in conjunction with the organized crime group Guerreros Unidos,  to attack and kidnap the students.  

There is no mention of the other deaths in the attacks of the night of September 26th.
   

Those attacks resulted in the deaths of 8-9 people, one being a young 15 year old soccer player who was  traveling on the team bus.

Another normalista, Julio Mondragon was taken, murdered,  his face flayed, and his corpse dumped in the street close to the location of the second attack.  

He is not counted with the  43.

It is peculiar that with the world wide publicity and attention of the Iguala 43, almost zero has been paid to the others that were killed and injured in the same attacks.  

As for Abarca’s wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda, on Monday, the federal courts spokesman said a judge had ruled Abarca's wife will stand trial for links to organized crime. 

In evidence are records of bank deposits into her account originating from Guerreros Unidos.

There are doubts that she will be charged with the attacks and kidnapping of the normalistas, and there have been no announcement either way as of yet.