The arrest of Gildardo López Astudillo comes weeks before the tenth anniversary of the disappearance of the students.
Mexican authorities say they have arrested a suspected cartel leader linked to the disappearance of dozens of students a decade ago.
Gildardo López Astudillo, the alleged leader of the cartel, was arrested on charges of “organized crime” and taken to the maximum security prison of Altiplano, in south-central Mexico, Reuters news agency reported, citing a federal security source.
This is the second time López Astudillo, known as “El Gil,” has been jailed since the cartel he allegedly leads was accused of orchestrating the 2014 disappearance and presumed murder of 43 students in Iguala, a case that shook the country and sparked years of protests.
López Astudillo's arrest comes as family members are preparing demonstrations to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the students' disappearance.
He was first arrested in 2015 before being released in 2019 after a judge determined that evidence against him was illegally obtained.
López Astudillo later served as a protected witness for the prosecution, offering alleged details about the criminal group's involvement in the disappearance of the students, according to the newspaper El País.
What happened to the missing students?
In September 2014, investigators believe 43 students traveling to a political rally in Mexico City were kidnapped by the Guerreros Unido drug cartel in collusion with corrupt police.
The exact circumstances of her disappearance remain unknown, but a government-created truth commission has labelled the case a “state crime” and said the military shares responsibility, either directly or through negligence.
Arrests have been made or ordered of dozens of suspects, including military personnel and a former attorney general who led a controversial investigation into the mass disappearance.
Only the remains of a few of the victims have been identified.
