The former governor of Mexico's southern Guerrero state has been arrested for allegedly ordering the destruction of evidence that could have helped shed light on the whereabouts of 43 students who disappeared in 2014, authorities said on Thursday.
Angel Aguirre — who has previously denied wrongdoing — was arrested on charges of obstruction of justice and forced disappearance, Attorney General Ernestina Godoy told reporters.
The case, considered one of the country's worst human-rights atrocities, has been marred by missteps and interference.
International probes have determined that the students from Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College were killed by organized crime members in cahoots with police, while on their way to a protest in Mexico City.
The remains of three victims have since been positively identified, but the others have yet to be found.
Godoy said new testimony from two people in January and May, one a protected witness, helped establish that Aguirre may have ordered the destruction of evidence related to the night of the students' disappearance in a meeting with senior officials in his administration.
She did not specify when the meeting took place or the details of the evidence.
"An analysis, based on new evidence and in accordance with due process, confirmed the possible involvement of Angel 'N,' former governor of Guerrero, in the destruction of evidence that could have revealed the students' whereabouts," Godoy said. The letter "N" is used as a placeholder for a suspect's last name.
Godoy said that state authorities had initially claimed that security camera footage of the students traveling by bus near government offices in Guerrero did not exist.
However, a witness who had previously kept quiet due to threats came forward this year, she said.
Angela Buitrago, a member of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts, an independent international rights team that has investigated the case, said her team had opened the line of investigation into Aguirre in 2015.
She said the latest information reinforced the team's conclusion that the state was responsible, and had the footage Aguirre reportedly ordered to be destroyed come to light sooner, it could have helped find the students.
"It is a state crime, regardless of whether it was committed by state or federal authorities," she said.
A spokesperson for Enrique Pena Nieto, who was president from 2012 to 2018, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
