MOSCOW, November 4 (RIA Novosti) — Police in Mexico City said Tuesday they have arrested the fugitive mayor of Iguala city, Jose Luis Abarca and his wife, who were on the run over accusations of ordering an attack on demonstrating students, 43 of whom are still missing.
"I confirm the detention of Jose Luis Abarca by the federal police in Mexico City," federal police spokesman Jose Ramon Salinas said on Twitter.
According to local media reports, Abarca and his wife were arrested in an apartment they had rented in the capital, and did not resist arrest.
On September 26, students from a rural teachers college travelled to Iguala city in Mexico's Guerrero state to protest against educational reforms. According to ongoing investigations, Mayor Abarca ordered the attacks on the students by police and organized crime gangs.
Six died and 43 of the students went missing during clashes with the police. The authorities have since appointed law enforcement agencies to search for the students and control the situation in Iguana and nearby towns.
Several mass graves were uncovered in the process, but DNA testing revealed that none of the bodies belonged to any of the 43 missing students.
According to Mexico's Forensic Medical Service, a total of 152 bodies have been found in mass graves this year alone across Guerrero state.
