Mexico Mayor And Wife Arrested In Disappearance Of 43 College Students

Published November 4, 2014 at 11:50 AM CST

The mayor of the city of Iguala, Jose Luis Abarca, right, and his wife Maria de los Angeles Pineda Villa, meet with state government officials in Chilpancingo, Mexico, on May 8, 2014. (Alejandrino Gonzalez/AP)

Police in Mexico City have arrested a mayor and his wife who are suspected of masterminding the abduction of 43 college students more than a month ago. The students, mostly young men in their 20s, studying to be teachers, are still missing.

Mexico’s attorney general says Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca and his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda, ordered the attack on the students. It is believed police stopped the students’ buses, shot at them, and handed the remaining 43 over to a criminal gang, the Guerreros Unidos.

Authorities have still not made any progress in determining the whereabouts of the students, and the case has sparked huge demonstrations in Mexico.

Here & Now’s Robin Young talks to NPR’s Carrie Kahn, who is in Mexico City, about the arrests and the ongoing investigation into the students’ disappearance.

Guest

Carrie Kahn, international correspondent for NPR, based in Mexico City, Mexico. She tweets @ckahn.