Former Iguala Mayor José Luis Abarca Velázquez And Wife Arrested In Mexico, D.F.

José Luis Abarca Velázquez, María de los Ángeles Pineda Villa and Felipe Flores Velázquez

Abarca Velázquez and Pineda Villa, the two federal fugitives were taken into custody by Federal Police in a rented home in Mexico, D.F.

By H. Nelson Goodson

November 4, 2014

Mexico, D.F. - On early Tuesday, both former Iguala Mayor José Luis Abarca Velázquez and his wife, María de los Ángeles Pineda Villa were arrested just after 3:50 a.m. by officers from the Federal Police District of Iztapalapa in Mexico, D.F., according to José  Ramón Salinas, spokesperson for the Federal Police. They were living in a modest home with one bed, a table and a TV in the neighborhood of Santa María Aztahuacán.
Both suspects were wanted by the federal prosecutor's office and the Guerrero State Department of Justice in connection with the homicide of 6 people including four students from the Raúl Isidro Burgos school in Ayotzinapa on September 26 and 27, including the missing 43 students in Iguala.

Velázquez and Pineda Villa are accused of ordering corrupt Iguala municipal police officers to attack, kill or detain the students from Ayotzinapa. The suspects are connected with the Guerreros Unidos, a criminal organization. Velázquez and Pineda Villa were taken to the federal prosecutor's office of major crimes investigations for questioning.

A reward of $1.5M pesos ($15K U.S.) was being offered by Mexico's Attorney General's Office (PGR) for information leading to the arrest of Velázquez. The PGR is also offering $64.5M pesos ($4.7M U.S.) for information  leading to the whereabouts of the 43 Ayotzinapa missing students. 

So far, 58 suspects have been detained including 14 municipal police officers from Cocula, 22 municipal police officers from Iguala, 16 members of the Guerreros Unidos, including several of its leaders, Sidronio Casarrubias Salgado and Salomón Pineda, aka, "El Molón."

Cocula Mayor César Miguel Peñaloza Santana was also arrested in connection with the missing students from the Raúl Isidro Burgos school in Ayotzinapa.

Felipe Flores Velázquez, Iguala's Public Security Director remains at large and is being sought by the PGR and the state of Guerrero for supervising the attack and kidnapping of the missing students.

Mexican Federal Police video of former Iguala Mayor José Luis Abarca Velázquez and wife arrest http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CAtleaZRYfc

Mexico, D.F. - Noemi Berumen Rodríguez was also taken into custody with former Iguala Mayor José Luis Abarca Velázquez and his wife, María de los Ángeles Pineda Villa on Tuesday. Velázquez and Pineda Villa are facing multiple homicide charges for the September 26-27 murders of four Ayotzinapa students and two people, in addition with the missing 43 students from Iguala. Rodríguez was charged with harboring both Velázquez and Pineda Villa who were wanted on federal and the state of Guerrero warrants. Photos: PGR/AIC