43 Missing Students, 1 Missing Mayor: Of Crime And Collusion In Mexico

[Coyote]

Pretty unbelievable - this isn't some far off over seas country - this is right next door. And we complain about corruption?

43 students murdered and interred in mass graves.

Elected officials working in collussion with drug gangs and cartels to facilitate this mass murder.

Unbelievable. The poor families

43 Missing Students 1 Missing Mayor Of Crime And Collusion In Mexico Parallels NPR

On the second story of the municipal palace in Iguala, Mexico, Mayor Jose Luis Abarca occupied the large corner office. His wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda, head of the city's family welfare department, occupied the one right next door. From there, residents say, the two ruthlessly ruled over this city of 150,000 in the southern state of Guerrero. A national newspaper dubbed the duo the "imperial couple."

But on Sept. 30, their reign ended. The mayor, with his wife by his side, asked the city council for a leave of absence. Neither has been seen since.

That happened four days after 43 university students disappeared after a confrontation with police in Iguala. Twenty-eight bodies — thought to be some of the missing students — were discovered in a nearby mass grave a week ago. More mass graves were discovered Friday.

The case highlights the corruption and collusion between politicians and drug traffickers in many parts of rural Mexico today.

Residents say Iguala changed under the current Mayor Abarca's tenure.

"Crime has been terrible since Jose Luis Abarca took over," says Claudia Guitierrez, a 20-year-old law student. "Iguala was never like this before."

These days Mexico's new paramilitary gendarmerie patrols Iguala's streets. Twenty-two local cops are under arrest, four are fugitives, and the remainder of the force was relieved of duty.

Authorities say that on Sept. 26, officers shot at three buses of students from a poor, rural teaching college who had come into town soliciting donations. After the shooting, with six people dead, the local cops were seen corralling the surviving students into patrol cars. Reportedly some of the officers confessed to turning the students over to a local drug gang, which later killed them.

Authorities say they don't have a motive yet, but focus has centered on Iguala's mayor and his wife, who have well-known connections to traffickers.

 

[Vigilante]

Just par for the Regime, another fuck up catching up to them....

 

[Mr. H.]

I heard a good broadcast on this subject today on NPR.
That's one fucked up country.
And we're not far behind...

 

[Coyote]

That's where I heard it too Mr. H - I get a lot of my news on NPR radio when I'm driving.

 

[Mr. H.]

That's where I heard it too Mr. H - I get a lot of my news on NPR radio when I'm driving.

I don't suppose Miss Daisy is in the back seat.

 

[Coyote]

That's where I heard it too Mr. H - I get a lot of my news on NPR radio when I'm driving.

I don't suppose Miss Daisy is in the back seat.

No...it's Miss Rosalee

 

[pismoe]

sometime NPR is pretty interesting . Mexico is messed up , has been for a long time . I was there once and left Tijuana as soon as I saw that its pretty messed up . Trip into Mexico lasted about 3 hours and consisted of driving over the border , turning around and getting the heck out . I spent a couple of hours inching along in traffic as I left Mexico . I saw what looked like beggars along the exit way and they were selling Chinese trinkets , it was funny and messed up . A Mexican guy that I knew [ LUIS ] told me , he said , hey , Mexico is the third world .

 

[ChrisL]

Pretty unbelievable - this isn't some far off over seas country - this is right next door. And we complain about corruption?

43 students murdered and interred in mass graves.

Elected officials working in collussion with drug gangs and cartels to facilitate this mass murder.

Unbelievable. The poor families

43 Missing Students 1 Missing Mayor Of Crime And Collusion In Mexico Parallels NPR

On the second story of the municipal palace in Iguala, Mexico, Mayor Jose Luis Abarca occupied the large corner office. His wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda, head of the city's family welfare department, occupied the one right next door. From there, residents say, the two ruthlessly ruled over this city of 150,000 in the southern state of Guerrero. A national newspaper dubbed the duo the "imperial couple."

But on Sept. 30, their reign ended. The mayor, with his wife by his side, asked the city council for a leave of absence. Neither has been seen since.

That happened four days after 43 university students disappeared after a confrontation with police in Iguala. Twenty-eight bodies — thought to be some of the missing students — were discovered in a nearby mass grave a week ago. More mass graves were discovered Friday.

The case highlights the corruption and collusion between politicians and drug traffickers in many parts of rural Mexico today.

Residents say Iguala changed under the current Mayor Abarca's tenure.

"Crime has been terrible since Jose Luis Abarca took over," says Claudia Guitierrez, a 20-year-old law student. "Iguala was never like this before."

These days Mexico's new paramilitary gendarmerie patrols Iguala's streets. Twenty-two local cops are under arrest, four are fugitives, and the remainder of the force was relieved of duty.

Authorities say that on Sept. 26, officers shot at three buses of students from a poor, rural teaching college who had come into town soliciting donations. After the shooting, with six people dead, the local cops were seen corralling the surviving students into patrol cars. Reportedly some of the officers confessed to turning the students over to a local drug gang, which later killed them.

Authorities say they don't have a motive yet, but focus has centered on Iguala's mayor and his wife, who have well-known connections to traffickers.

What is Mexico's federal government doing? Why can't they fight off the drug cartels and corruption. It seems like everyone in a position of power in Mexico is corrupt. Funny that in Mexico, drugs and guns are banned for ordinary citizen. Perhaps the citizens of Mexico should take up arms and start fighting against these cartels, and their own government in some instances.

 

[Coyote]

Pretty unbelievable - this isn't some far off over seas country - this is right next door. And we complain about corruption?

43 students murdered and interred in mass graves.

Elected officials working in collussion with drug gangs and cartels to facilitate this mass murder.

Unbelievable. The poor families

43 Missing Students 1 Missing Mayor Of Crime And Collusion In Mexico Parallels NPR

On the second story of the municipal palace in Iguala, Mexico, Mayor Jose Luis Abarca occupied the large corner office. His wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda, head of the city's family welfare department, occupied the one right next door. From there, residents say, the two ruthlessly ruled over this city of 150,000 in the southern state of Guerrero. A national newspaper dubbed the duo the "imperial couple."

But on Sept. 30, their reign ended. The mayor, with his wife by his side, asked the city council for a leave of absence. Neither has been seen since.

That happened four days after 43 university students disappeared after a confrontation with police in Iguala. Twenty-eight bodies — thought to be some of the missing students — were discovered in a nearby mass grave a week ago. More mass graves were discovered Friday.

The case highlights the corruption and collusion between politicians and drug traffickers in many parts of rural Mexico today.

Residents say Iguala changed under the current Mayor Abarca's tenure.

"Crime has been terrible since Jose Luis Abarca took over," says Claudia Guitierrez, a 20-year-old law student. "Iguala was never like this before."

These days Mexico's new paramilitary gendarmerie patrols Iguala's streets. Twenty-two local cops are under arrest, four are fugitives, and the remainder of the force was relieved of duty.

Authorities say that on Sept. 26, officers shot at three buses of students from a poor, rural teaching college who had come into town soliciting donations. After the shooting, with six people dead, the local cops were seen corralling the surviving students into patrol cars. Reportedly some of the officers confessed to turning the students over to a local drug gang, which later killed them.

Authorities say they don't have a motive yet, but focus has centered on Iguala's mayor and his wife, who have well-known connections to traffickers.

What is Mexico's federal government doing? Why can't they fight off the drug cartels and corruption. It seems like everyone in a position of power in Mexico is corrupt. Funny that in Mexico, drugs and guns are banned for ordinary citizen. Perhaps the citizens of Mexico should take up arms and start fighting against these cartels, and their own government in some instances.

I don't know what they are doing or can do but I think corruption is so deep seated and intertwined with the cartels and I'm sure politicians that it must make cleaning it up a nightmare. When I was listening to the radio they mentioned the arrests of a boatload of police in that area for involvement and corruption.

It is also probably difficult for the Mexican authorities to tackle because the cartels are powerful, well armed - have been known to conduct brutal killings, including decapitations as "lessons" that "your family" could be next. Doesn't help that the drug trade is so lucrative and the customers mostly in the US that keeps the money flowing.

I don't know much about the Mexican government or political system except that corruption is huge.

 

[pismoe]

notice the elite in Mexico and notice that most are probably Spanish background . Look at the old V. Fox and the current prez and they sure weren't / aren't mestizo / indian stock . Not that it matters to me , just an observation of mine .

 

[pismoe]

think that MORDIDA runs the show from top to bottom in mexico !! Plus the drug use / demand in the USA fuels the cartels in mexico .

 

[ChrisL]

Pretty unbelievable - this isn't some far off over seas country - this is right next door. And we complain about corruption?

43 students murdered and interred in mass graves.

Elected officials working in collussion with drug gangs and cartels to facilitate this mass murder.

Unbelievable. The poor families

43 Missing Students 1 Missing Mayor Of Crime And Collusion In Mexico Parallels NPR

On the second story of the municipal palace in Iguala, Mexico, Mayor Jose Luis Abarca occupied the large corner office. His wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda, head of the city's family welfare department, occupied the one right next door. From there, residents say, the two ruthlessly ruled over this city of 150,000 in the southern state of Guerrero. A national newspaper dubbed the duo the "imperial couple."

But on Sept. 30, their reign ended. The mayor, with his wife by his side, asked the city council for a leave of absence. Neither has been seen since.

That happened four days after 43 university students disappeared after a confrontation with police in Iguala. Twenty-eight bodies — thought to be some of the missing students — were discovered in a nearby mass grave a week ago. More mass graves were discovered Friday.

The case highlights the corruption and collusion between politicians and drug traffickers in many parts of rural Mexico today.

Residents say Iguala changed under the current Mayor Abarca's tenure.

"Crime has been terrible since Jose Luis Abarca took over," says Claudia Guitierrez, a 20-year-old law student. "Iguala was never like this before."

These days Mexico's new paramilitary gendarmerie patrols Iguala's streets. Twenty-two local cops are under arrest, four are fugitives, and the remainder of the force was relieved of duty.

Authorities say that on Sept. 26, officers shot at three buses of students from a poor, rural teaching college who had come into town soliciting donations. After the shooting, with six people dead, the local cops were seen corralling the surviving students into patrol cars. Reportedly some of the officers confessed to turning the students over to a local drug gang, which later killed them.

Authorities say they don't have a motive yet, but focus has centered on Iguala's mayor and his wife, who have well-known connections to traffickers.

What is Mexico's federal government doing? Why can't they fight off the drug cartels and corruption. It seems like everyone in a position of power in Mexico is corrupt. Funny that in Mexico, drugs and guns are banned for ordinary citizen. Perhaps the citizens of Mexico should take up arms and start fighting against these cartels, and their own government in some instances.

I don't know what they are doing or can do but I think corruption is so deep seated and intertwined with the cartels and I'm sure politicians that it must make cleaning it up a nightmare. When I was listening to the radio they mentioned the arrests of a boatload of police in that area for involvement and corruption.

It is also probably difficult for the Mexican authorities to tackle because the cartels are powerful, well armed - have been known to conduct brutal killings, including decapitations as "lessons" that "your family" could be next. Doesn't help that the drug trade is so lucrative and the customers mostly in the US that keeps the money flowing.

I don't know much about the Mexican government or political system except that corruption is huge.

Not to mention that some of the Mexican government and police are already tied in with the cartels, whether that be because of bribes or some other sense of loyalty to them. I just wonder why the government allowed the cartels to become as powerful as they are today. Perhaps if they had nipped this problem in the bud way back in the beginning, it would not be an issue now.

 

[Coyote]

Bodies In Mexico Mass Grave Apparently Not Those Of Missing Students NPR

The mystery surrounding the disappearance of 43 students last month has deepened. Mexican authorities say remains found in a mass grave outside the town of Iquala are not those of the students.​

So nothing is known about the whereabouts of these missing kids And who's bodies lie in these mass graves? Sickening

 

[ChrisL]

Bodies In Mexico Mass Grave Apparently Not Those Of Missing Students NPR

The mystery surrounding the disappearance of 43 students last month has deepened. Mexican authorities say remains found in a mass grave outside the town of Iquala are not those of the students.​

So nothing is known about the whereabouts of these missing kids And who's bodies lie in these mass graves? Sickening

Good grief! Sickening is right. I really have to wonder about the Mexican government. It seems like they do nothing to get this problem under control.

 

[pismoe]

its a dangerous place , a lot of retired guys I know from a motorcycle message board ride motorcycles in mexico and the stories they tell are enough to make me stay out of mexico . Course , I'd never go simply based on my one little impression of mexico whan I crossed the border in maybe 1990 . --- Dismembered Body Found in Mexico Is Missing US Traveler Harry Devert VICE News --- Harry Devert , he was big news about a year ago on that M.C. message board .

 

[waltky]

Protests against missing trainee teachers in Mexico...

Thousands March in Mexico Over Feared Student Massacre
October 17, 2014 — Thousands marched in the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco on Friday to demand answers about the fate of 43 missing trainee teachers, who authorities fear were massacred by police in league with gang members.

The students went missing in the southwestern state of Guerrero on Sept. 26 after clashing with police and masked men, with dozens of police being arrested in connection with a case that has sent shockwaves across Mexico. Authorities say many of the missing students were abducted by police. Protesters marched in central Acapulco, a resort that in the 1960s was a magnet for Hollywood stars but is now one of Mexico's most dangerous places, because of drug gang turf wars. "The people are fed up with so much killing," protesters chanted.

Demonstrators protest the disappearance of 43 students from the Isidro Burgos rural teachers college in Acapulco, Guerrero state, Mexico

While the march passed peacefully, storefronts were boarded up as a precaution and many tourists canceled their plans for a weekend visit. Aside from the marchers, there were few people on the streets. In Acapulco's beach district, however, some tourists continued to relax undisturbed. Many protesters were calling for the resignation of Angel Aguirre, the governor of Guerrero state, where violence has mushroomed in recent weeks and months. "Why are they killing us?" 48-year-old laborer Pedro Padilla wanted to know. "We're not here just for the students, but also because of what is happening in many places across Guerrero, where the people are very afraid of the narcos."

Officials have found mass graves in the hills outside the city of Iguala, near the spot where the students disappeared. However, of an initial group of 28 bodies recovered, none of the remains were found to be those of the missing students. The violence is overshadowing President Enrique Pena Nieto's efforts to focus public attention on sweeping economic reforms aimed at boosting economic growth in Latin America's No. 2 economy. Pena Nieto took office two years ago pledging to end a wave of violence that has claimed about 100,000 victims since the start of 2007. Although homicides have diminished on his watch, other crimes such as extortion and kidnapping have increased.

Thousands March in Mexico Over Feared Student Massacre

 

[waltky]

Gang kingpin arrested in missing students case after massive protests...

Suspect in missing students case caught
Sun, Oct 19, 2014 - CLOSING NET: Authorities investigating the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico arrested a gang kingpin shortly after thousands of protesters marched in Acapulco

Mexican authorities announced on Friday the arrest of the “maximum leader” of a drug gang accused of colluding with crooked police in the disappearance of 43 college students. Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said the arrest of the Guerreros Unidos gang kingpin Sidronio Casarrubias would open a “new line of investigation that can quickly and more easily get us closer to the truth” in the case. The announcement came hours after thousands of protesters marched in Acapulco to demand the safe return of the 43 young men, who went missing in the southern state of Guerrero three weeks ago. Tomas Zeron, director of investigations in the prosecutor’s office, said Casarrubias was arrested on Thursday at a police checkpoint on a highway between Mexico City and the nearby city of Toluca.

The announcement came three days after authorities said another Guerreros Unidos leader, Benjamin Mondragon, killed himself when federal police surrounded him in the central state of Morelos. Authorities say the gang worked hand-in-hand with corrupt municipal officers in a night of violence in the city of Iguala on Sept. 26 that left six people dead and the 43 aspiring teachers missing. Iguala’s officers shot at the students’ buses and then handed them to their counterparts in the neighboring town of Cocula, who delivered the 43 young men to the Guerreros Unidos, according to authorities. Casarrubias denied ordering the attack on the students, but was informed when it happened and did nothing to stop it, Murillo Karam said. A total of 36 municipal officers have been arrested in the case, along with 17 Guerreros Unidos members and their boss, he said.

The attorney general said investigators are still analyzing the contents of three mass graves found near Iguala, after declaring last week that 28 bodies in one pit did not belong to the students. More than 1,200 security forces are looking for the college students around Iguala. The mass disappearance has sparked international and national outrage, with protests held across Mexico last week and a new demonstration in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco on Friday. Chanting “they took them alive, we want them back alive,” thousands of students, teachers and farmers also called for the resignation of Guerrero Governor Angel Aguirre over his handling of the case. “We are angry because this is not an isolated event. Many of us are parents and we see very ugly things in this country that we want to fight,” 34-year-old teacher Magdalena Catalan said.

Many of the protesters wore masks in the latest demonstration over the mass disappearance. “We are enraged against the government. It’s going to be a month [since the disappearance] and we have seen nothing,” a machete-wielding farmer said. The US embassy issued an “emergency message” urging its citizens to stay away from the demonstration. However, the protest was peaceful, unlike a demonstration in Guerrero’s capital on Monday that ended with students torching part of the state government’s headquarters. The protesters have threatened to seize all 81 municipal offices in Guerrero to pressure authorities to find the students. They took over a fifth town hall on Friday while Acapulco’s government closed its offices as a precaution. Aircraft, horse-mounted police and divers have been looking for the 43 missing in several towns around Iguala, 200km south of Mexico City.

Suspect in missing students case caught - Taipei Times

 

[ChrisL]

Gang kingpin arrested in missing students case after massive protests...

Suspect in missing students case caught
Sun, Oct 19, 2014 - CLOSING NET: Authorities investigating the disappearance of 43 students in Mexico arrested a gang kingpin shortly after thousands of protesters marched in Acapulco

Mexican authorities announced on Friday the arrest of the “maximum leader” of a drug gang accused of colluding with crooked police in the disappearance of 43 college students. Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said the arrest of the Guerreros Unidos gang kingpin Sidronio Casarrubias would open a “new line of investigation that can quickly and more easily get us closer to the truth” in the case. The announcement came hours after thousands of protesters marched in Acapulco to demand the safe return of the 43 young men, who went missing in the southern state of Guerrero three weeks ago. Tomas Zeron, director of investigations in the prosecutor’s office, said Casarrubias was arrested on Thursday at a police checkpoint on a highway between Mexico City and the nearby city of Toluca.

The announcement came three days after authorities said another Guerreros Unidos leader, Benjamin Mondragon, killed himself when federal police surrounded him in the central state of Morelos. Authorities say the gang worked hand-in-hand with corrupt municipal officers in a night of violence in the city of Iguala on Sept. 26 that left six people dead and the 43 aspiring teachers missing. Iguala’s officers shot at the students’ buses and then handed them to their counterparts in the neighboring town of Cocula, who delivered the 43 young men to the Guerreros Unidos, according to authorities. Casarrubias denied ordering the attack on the students, but was informed when it happened and did nothing to stop it, Murillo Karam said. A total of 36 municipal officers have been arrested in the case, along with 17 Guerreros Unidos members and their boss, he said.

The attorney general said investigators are still analyzing the contents of three mass graves found near Iguala, after declaring last week that 28 bodies in one pit did not belong to the students. More than 1,200 security forces are looking for the college students around Iguala. The mass disappearance has sparked international and national outrage, with protests held across Mexico last week and a new demonstration in the Pacific resort city of Acapulco on Friday. Chanting “they took them alive, we want them back alive,” thousands of students, teachers and farmers also called for the resignation of Guerrero Governor Angel Aguirre over his handling of the case. “We are angry because this is not an isolated event. Many of us are parents and we see very ugly things in this country that we want to fight,” 34-year-old teacher Magdalena Catalan said.

Many of the protesters wore masks in the latest demonstration over the mass disappearance. “We are enraged against the government. It’s going to be a month [since the disappearance] and we have seen nothing,” a machete-wielding farmer said. The US embassy issued an “emergency message” urging its citizens to stay away from the demonstration. However, the protest was peaceful, unlike a demonstration in Guerrero’s capital on Monday that ended with students torching part of the state government’s headquarters. The protesters have threatened to seize all 81 municipal offices in Guerrero to pressure authorities to find the students. They took over a fifth town hall on Friday while Acapulco’s government closed its offices as a precaution. Aircraft, horse-mounted police and divers have been looking for the 43 missing in several towns around Iguala, 200km south of Mexico City.

Suspect in missing students case caught - Taipei Times

Interesting. Kind of hard to really believe anything that comes out of Mexico nowadays though, considering that the government is also corrupt. Is this for real, or is this guy(and the others arrested) just a scapegoat to placate the people? Hopefully, these are the right people that were arrested. What a shame. My aunt went to Acapulco for her honeymoon years ago and said it was so beautiful and how nice the people were, etc.

 

[waltky]

Federal Police Take Control Of 13 Towns In Mexico...

Mexico offers reward for info on missing students
20 Oct.`14) — The Mexican government announced rewards Monday of 1.5 million pesos ($111,000) for information on 43 students from a rural teachers' college who have been missing since Sept. 26.

The government ran full-page ads in Mexican newspapers with pictures of the 43 young men. The government also offered 1.5 million pesos for information on those who had abducted or killed the students. The government says it still does not know what happened to the students of the radical teachers' college, after they were rounded up by local police and allegedly handed over to gunmen from a drug cartel. About 50 people have been arrested or detained in the case, including police officers and suspected members of the Guerreros Unidos cartel. Analyses of remains found in mass graves have so far not matched the students.

As part of the effort to search for the students — which now includes, air, ground water-borne patrols — and bring order to the violent region of southern Mexico, federal police took control of 13 municipalities in southern Mexico where local police are suspected of links to organized crime. The municipalities are all within a roughly 125-mile (200-kilometer) radius of Iguala, in the southern state of Guerrero, the town where the students from a rural teachers' college disappeared more than three weeks ago after a confrontation with police. Twelve of the municipalities are in Guerrero state and one is in Mexico state. Among them are the tourist destinations of Taxco and Ixtapan de la Sal.

National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido said Sunday night that authorities investigating the disappearance of the students found "irregularities" and "presumed links to organized crime" in the 13 municipal police forces. Federal police have assumed control of public security in the municipalities, the police chiefs have been sent to a special center for "certification" and their guns are being tested, he said. Federal forces had already disarmed local police in Iguala and Cocula, and arrested a total of 36 police officers. Both the mayor and police chief of Iguala are fugitives and accused of links to the local drug cartel, Guerreros Unidos, believed to have worked with police in disappearing the students.

The disappearance of the students has outraged Mexicans, with thousands of protesters marching recently in Mexico City, Acapulco and elsewhere to demand their safe return. On Friday, Mexican officials announced the arrest of Sidronio Casarrubias Salgado, the purported leader of Guerreros Unidos. He was detained Thursday on a highway leaving Mexico City, federal prosecutor Tomas Zeron said. Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam had said he hoped the arrest would bring new leads in the case. Rubido said Sunday night that the search for the 43 students is being carried out with the help of relatives and the International Red Cross.

Mexico offers reward for info on missing students - Yahoo News

 

[Coyote]

Mexican Prosecutor Says Mayor, Wife Ordered Attack On Students
by Carrie Kahn

Mexican Prosecutor Says Mayor Wife Ordered Attack On Students Parallels NPR

Attorney General Murillo Karam said investigators are still trying to positively identify the remains of some 30 bodies found in nine graves outside Iguala.

In the town Wednesday, angry protesters — many hooded — smashed windows and burned several offices at City Hall.

In Mexico City, students marched for hours, demanding justice and revenge.

Maria Fernanda Solis, an 18-year-old college student, said it's just outrageous how much corruption, collusion and impunity there is in Mexico.


"The government and the traffickers are one and the same," she said. "We have to stop it."

Many students dressed in black, like those from the music school at the National Autonomous University, asked: If the government kills students, what is left for the future of Mexico?

Still no knowledge of where they are