MEXICO.- Jose Luis Abarca, the former-mayor of Iguala, Guerrero, and his wife Maria de los Angeles Pineda were captured in the early hours of the day on Tuesday, November 4th in Iztapalapa, Mexico City and arrested as suspects behind the attack and disappearance of the missing teacher training academy students of Ayotzinapa on September 26th.

The most wanted couple in Mexico was captured by elements of the Federal Police and reportedly did not resist arrest, after spending more than a month and a half as fugitives. According to declarations by the Attorney General of Mexico, Jesús Murillo Karam, these were the master minds behind the attack that ended the lives of six people and the disappearance of 43 students in Iguala, Guerrero in late September.

On September 26th, the night of the attacks, Maria de los Angeles Pineda as first lady of the municipality, and President of the State's Family Integral Development organization (DIF)– a customary position for first ladies– gave a speech about the organization's achievements under her administration. Fearful of being sabotaged by Ayotzinapa students, Mayor Abarca ordered the Police of Cocula to prohibit their planned manifestation at the event, which is when the massacre began, while the mayor and his wife celebrated what was to be another step forward in the political career that Pineda was trying to get off the ground.

However, when the news got around, Pineda's political dreams came crashing to the ground and they were forced to flea and had been missing since September 30th. They are being accused for the tragedy in Iguala,, as well as for supposed ties with drug traffickers and specifically with the Guerreros Unidos group.

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According to Proceso, Maria de los Angeles Pineda Villa never signs with both of her last names, in order to avoid being related to her brothers Mario and Alberto, two drug traffickers assasinated in 2009 for being disloyal to the Beltran Leyva Cartel, or with Salomón Pineda Villa, who is employed as the head of the Guerreros Unidos Cartel since June 2013 and is the very cartel that kidnapped the 43 normalista students, with the help of the municipal police.

This morning, Reforma press released statements from supposed members of Guerreros Unidos, who have confessed to the execution of the 43 students.

However, authorities contnue to hold out hope that they will find the students with the recent arrest of Abarca and Pineda, , stating that this is a turning point in the investigation. If they are still alive, information seems to be contradictory and nothing seems certain.

Elizabeth.rosales@sandiegored.com