Mexico recoiled in fresh horror Tuesday over the discovery of yet another mass grave, in the futile month-long search for 43 missing college students.
President Enrique Pena Nieto ordered a meeting of security officials in hopes of "restoring order" in restive Guerrero state, site of the latest macabre find, and also where the students disappeared last month.
Scores of bodies have been found in unmarked graves in the search for the missing students, laying bare the extent of the rampant killings in the region, which law enforcement officials have blame on ongoing drug violence.
It was not clear whether the bodies in the grave in the town of Cocula were those of the missing students, who vanished on September 26 in the nearby town of Iguala, after their buses were attacked by police.
The mayor of Iguala, some 130 kilometers (about 80 miles) southwest of Mexico City, and his wife, who are suspected of ordering the students' abduction, are currently on the run.
Around 40 municipal officers also have been arrested in connection to the disappearances.
Meanwhile, Guerrero's governor resigned last week, amid criticism that he had not done enough after the disappearances.
President Enrique Pena Nieto said Guerrero's new governor, Rogelio Ortega Martinez, would meet with the country's top security brass to address the incident.
"I have instructed my security cabinet to meet with the governor to come up with actions to restore order and security," President Pena Nieto said, according to press reports.
The 43 male students went missing on September 26 in Iguala after their buses were attacked by police and members of the Guerreros Unidos gang, killing six people.
Prosecutors suspect that the young men were delivered by police to the gang, but do not know what happened to the students after that.
- New arrests -
Meanwhile, authorities said Monday four more members of the cartel were arrested in connection with the abduction, including two Guerreros Unidos members suspected to have orchestrated the crime and two others accused of aiding the alleged masterminds.
Mexico's attorney general said the arrests were important, as two of the suspects confessed to being directly involved in the disappearances in crime-plagued Guerrero.
"We have identified the orchestrators. Today, we have detained those responsible for the disappearance of these youth," Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said.
A total of 56 people have been arrested in connection with the abductions, including other Guerreros Unidos gang members who have said the students were likely killed.
The case has sparked outcry across Mexico, with protests in several towns and cities where demonstrators have occupied and even torched government buildings.
Federal authorities accuse on-the-run Iguala mayor Jose Luis Abarca of ordering the attack to prevent the students from disrupting a public event held by his wife, who is suspected of being a member of the Guerreros Unidos cartel.
The mayor belongs to the same leftist Democratic Revolution Party as the former Guerrero governor Angel Aguirre, who resigned last week.
The students, from a radical teachers college known for staging protests, were in Iguala for a fundraiser when they were attacked.
The government announced a $110,000 reward for information in the disappearance of the students.
The families of the missing students have promised to continue to stage protests until the young men are found.
Mexico recoiled in fresh horror Tuesday over the discovery of yet another mass grave, in the futile month-long search for 43 missing college students.
President Enrique Pena Nieto ordered a meeting of security officials in hopes of “restoring order” in restive Guerrero state, site of the latest macabre find, and also where the students disappeared last month.
Scores of bodies have been found in unmarked graves in the search for the missing students, laying bare the extent of the rampant killings in the region, which law enforcement officials have blame on ongoing drug violence.
It was not clear whether the bodies in the grave in the town of Cocula were those of the missing students, who vanished on September 26 in the nearby town of Iguala, after their buses were attacked by police.
The mayor of Iguala, some 130 kilometers (about 80 miles) southwest of Mexico City, and his wife, who are suspected of ordering the students’ abduction, are currently on the run.
Around 40 municipal officers also have been arrested in connection to the disappearances.
Meanwhile, Guerrero’s governor resigned last week, amid criticism that he had not done enough after the disappearances.
President Enrique Pena Nieto said Guerrero’s new governor, Rogelio Ortega Martinez, would meet with the country’s top security brass to address the incident.
“I have instructed my security cabinet to meet with the governor to come up with actions to restore order and security,” President Pena Nieto said, according to press reports.
The 43 male students went missing on September 26 in Iguala after their buses were attacked by police and members of the Guerreros Unidos gang, killing six people.
Prosecutors suspect that the young men were delivered by police to the gang, but do not know what happened to the students after that.
– New arrests –
Meanwhile, authorities said Monday four more members of the cartel were arrested in connection with the abduction, including two Guerreros Unidos members suspected to have orchestrated the crime and two others accused of aiding the alleged masterminds.
Mexico’s attorney general said the arrests were important, as two of the suspects confessed to being directly involved in the disappearances in crime-plagued Guerrero.
“We have identified the orchestrators. Today, we have detained those responsible for the disappearance of these youth,” Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said.
A total of 56 people have been arrested in connection with the abductions, including other Guerreros Unidos gang members who have said the students were likely killed.
The case has sparked outcry across Mexico, with protests in several towns and cities where demonstrators have occupied and even torched government buildings.
Federal authorities accuse on-the-run Iguala mayor Jose Luis Abarca of ordering the attack to prevent the students from disrupting a public event held by his wife, who is suspected of being a member of the Guerreros Unidos cartel.
The mayor belongs to the same leftist Democratic Revolution Party as the former Guerrero governor Angel Aguirre, who resigned last week.
The students, from a radical teachers college known for staging protests, were in Iguala for a fundraiser when they were attacked.
The government announced a $110,000 reward for information in the disappearance of the students.
The families of the missing students have promised to continue to stage protests until the young men are found.
