According to federal prosecutors, former Mexican Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam was arrested on charges of mishandling investigations into the 2014 disappearance of 43 students.

The young men studying at a rural teacher training institution in Ayotzinapa went lost in Iguala, Guerrero state, on September 26, 2014. There is no evidence or allegation that the students are still alive.

Murillo Karam served as attorney general under President Enrique Pena Nieto from 2012 until 2015. He is the highest-ranking official arrested thus far in investigating one of the country's gravest human rights violations.

What is Murillo Karam accused of?

Alejandro Gertz Manero, the current attorney general, had accused Murillo Karam in 2020 of "orchestrating a massive media trick" to oversee a "generalized cover-up" in the extraordinary, high-profile case of the missing pupils.

Murillo Karam stated in 2014, under pressure to solve the case, that members of a narcotics gang had murdered the students and burned their bodies in a rubbish dump. Murillo Karam termed this evaluation "historic truth."

Many, including the victims' families, rejected the hypothetical statement of Murillo Karam.

His arrest comes one day after a panel was established to explore whether the army was responsible for the disappearances of the students.

The panel found that a soldier had infiltrated the student organization and that the army failed to prevent the kidnappings despite being aware of what was occurring.

What happened to the students?

It is thought that the students were kidnapped in the city of Iguala by corrupt local police, members of the security services, and a drug gang.

Students allegedly vanished near a military base where soldiers knew the situation. The families of the victims have mobilized to hold those soldiers accountable.

The investigation revealed torture, unlawful arrest, and improper evidence management. As a result, some of the most hardcore narco-traffickers in the country's criminal underground have been allowed to walk free.

Investigators think that the students were initially detained by crooked police, who then turned them over to a narcotics gang, which accused them of belonging to a rival group, putting their lives in grave danger.

Murillo Karam said drug gangs burned the kids' bodies at the Cocula dump and dumped the ashes in a nearby river. However, the victims' final resting place is still unknown.

Tomas Zeron, the head of federal investigations in Mexico, escaped to Israel as it became apparent he was wanted on charges of torture and other major human rights violations, including hiding the forced disappearances of the students. Mexico wants to extradite him.