Police Capture Mexican Mayor Accused Of Ordering Student Kidnappings

By Eyder Peralta

Published November 4, 2014 at 6:03 AM CST

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.

Mexican Federal Police captured the former mayor of Iguala, José Luis Abarca, and his wife, María de los Ángeles Pineda, near Mexico City this morning, the spokesman for the Federal Police said in a tweet.

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.

"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.