Mexican authorities have arrested Gildardo Lopez Astudillo, also known as “El Gil,” a suspected drug cartel boss allegedly linked to the disappearance of 43 college students from Ayotzinapa teachers’ college a decade ago. Lopez Astudillo, an alleged leader of the Guerreros Unidos cartel, was detained again after being released from prison in 2019, officials announced on Friday.
Lopez Astudillo was originally arrested in September 2015 in Taxco, Guerrero state, about 35 kilometers north of Iguala, the town where the students vanished in September 2014. He was transferred to the Altiplano maximum security prison in Mexico state following his recent arrest on charges of “organized crime.” Authorities indicated that the investigation into his activities could be expanded.
The students had been traveling to a political demonstration in Mexico City when they were allegedly kidnapped by members of the Guerreros Unidos cartel, reportedly in collusion with corrupt police officers. The circumstances of their disappearance remain unclear, but a government-formed truth commission has described the incident as a “state crime,” implicating both the military and local law enforcement in the case, either through direct involvement or negligence.
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Despite the arrests of numerous suspects, including military personnel and a former attorney general who oversaw a controversial investigation into the mass disappearance, only a few of the students’ remains have been identified. Lopez Astudillo’s release in 2019, after a judge ruled that evidence against him was obtained illegally, was condemned by the families of the missing students.
His re-arrest comes as the families of the victims prepare to mark the anniversary of the disappearance with demonstrations, continuing their quest for justice and accountability in one of Mexico’s most notorious human rights tragedies.
