Mexico missing case: Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca held

Mexico missing case: Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca held
Jose Luis Abarca and his wife Maria de los Angeles Pineda had been on the run from the authorities

Police in Mexico have arrested the fugitive mayor of the town of Iguala, where 43 students went missing in September, along with his wife.

Jose Luis Abarca was detained by federal officers in the capital, Mexico City, a police spokesman said.

Mexican officials have accused Mr Abarca of ordering police to confront the students on the day of their disappearance on 26 September.

Eyewitnesses described seeing them being bundled into police cars.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto praised the work of prosecutors and the security forces.

"I hope that [the couple's] arrest will clarify many points being investigated by federal prosecutors," Mr Pena Nieto said.

Unknown whereabouts

Mexican officials had issued an arrest warrant for Mr Abarca and his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda, after Iguala police officers said they had received an order from the mayor to intercept the students.

The officers said they had been told to stop the students from interrupting a speech given by Ms Pineda in Iguala on that day.

"This was the missing piece. This arrest will help us find our kids," Felipe de la Cruz, a parent of one of the missing told Milenio television.
Neighbours said they had no idea that Mr Abarca and his wife had been living in the house

The disappearance of the 43 students has triggered mass protests

The students, from a nearby teacher training college, had travelled to Iguala to raise funds and protest.

They have not been seen since. A search has uncovered a series of mass graves in the area, but initial tests suggested they were not those of the students.

Since then, more bodies have been uncovered and officials have cast doubt on the accuracy of the initial tests.

More forensic tests are currently being carried out.