Police Capture Mexican Mayor Accused Of Ordering Student Kidnappings

By Eyder Peralta / NPR

Published November 4, 2014 at 1:33 AM PST

This story was published more than 9 years ago.

Dubbed the "imperial couple" by a Mexican newspaper, the mayor of Iguala, Jose Luis Abarca, and his wife Maria de los Angeles Pineda were wanted for questioning in the case of the missing students and the mass graves found near Iguala. They are shown here in a photo taken in May.

Federal Police in Mexico say they have captured the former mayor of Iguala, José Luis Abarca, and his wife, María de los Ángeles Pineda, near Mexico City this morning, Mexican media, including El Universal, are reporting.

If you remember, the federal government has been searching for Abarca since they accused him of ordering the capture of 43 college students. Authorities have said Abarca then ordered police to turn over the students to a cartel. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

The Mexican news site, Animal Politico, reports that authorities have issued three arrest warrants against Abarca.

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"One for the killing of three people that happened in the clashes that led to the disappearance of the students; another, a tentative mass homicide charge for the disappearance of the 43 college students and another for the murder of a local leader in 2013," Animal Politico reports.

The details of this story are still emerging. We'll update this post, once we know more.