The Mexican Government recently discovered the bodies of forty-three students at a Mexican college who were gruesomely murdered. This case is extremely difficult to understand as it is reported that the abduction of the students was ordered by the mayor of Iguala, Jose Luis Abarca. Abarca thought the students planned to disrupt an event led by his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda, so he asked the local police to remove the students. The police handed the students over to a gang known as the “Guerreros Unidos,” which is when things took a turn for the worst and the gang brutally murdered the students. After taking over a month to find the bodies of the students, Mexican police members discovered their remains scattered and burned. Nathan Dorn, ‘16, said, “This news is depressing and I hope those responsible are brought to justice.”

The abduction happened on September 26 after 100 students, from a radical teacher training college, went to Iguala to hold a protest for what they considered discriminatory hiring and funding practices from the government. The students believed the government funding programs favored urban colleges more than rural ones, and prefered hiring teachers from the inner city. Their plan was to interrupt a conference hosted by the mayor’s wife. After hearing the plans, the mayor ordered the police of Iguala to arrest them. The police tried to intercept the student filled busses, but a police chase ensued that killed six people and injured 25 people. It is suspected that once the police captured the 43 students, they handed them over to the gang Guerreros Unidos. The Guerreros Unidos killed and burned the 43 bodies and all other DNA evidence was put in bags and thrown into the river. 74 people have been arrested in relation to the case including many members of the gang.

During the several week period in between the abduction and the discovery of the bodies, Mexican citizens protested throughout the country demanding for the students to be found. After the evidence was discovered, the focus of the protest shifted to focus on the rise of gang related violence throughout the country over the past year. Mexican citizens have witnessed enough violence and are calling for change. These protests brought the case of corruption in Mexican police ranks and cartel violence to the surface of Mexican media.

The Guerreros Unidos, which translates to United Warriors, is a gang in Mexico who is responsible for the deaths of 43 Mexican students. The Guerreros Unidos started only four years ago and are led by drug trafficker Mario Casarrubias. They broke off from the gang “Los Rojos” and established themselves in Iguala. The gang has ties with the mayor’s wife’s brother, Salomon Pineda Villa, nicknamed “El Molon”. He was in federal prison and just released last year. It is believed that this is the mayor’s connection with the gang.

While this terrible act happened in Mexico over a month ago, its effects will be felt for long after. However, Mexican authorities are doing all that they can to solve this crime in the best possible way. On October 5, they discovered a grave full of 28 bodies only to later learn that none of the bodies were any of the students. However, later that day the police found additional graves with what they believed to contain some of the remains of the students. This event has not only affected the families involved, but also sparked a nationwide protest against the influence of the drug cartels in the country. With much anger and frustration boiling over throughout the country, Mexico may see some major changes in the near future.