--- description: A purported hitman, Felipe Rodríguez Salgado may add more details to a tale of endemic corruption and endless gang warfare in Mexico title: Gang Member Held After Disappearance of 43 Mexican Students image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt199af61849e9b924/69877a8ff887dc3455e89971/mexico-students.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Gang Member Held After Disappearance of 43 Mexican Students by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 17, 2015 8:32 PM CUT  Protestors and family of 43 missing students from Guerrero State in Mexico march to protest the government and demand answers of the missing students on Nov. 5, 2014 in Mexico, City. Protestors and family of 43 missing students from Guerrero State in Mexico march to protest the government and demand answers of the missing students on Nov. 5, 2014 in Mexico, City.Brett Gundlock—;Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 17, 2015 8:32 PM CUT Mexican authorities have [detained](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/17/world/americas/suspect-in-disappearance-of-43-mexican-students-is-held.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news "undefined") the leader of the criminal group that prosecutors say killed 43 college students and burned their bodies. Felipe Rodríguez Salgado is believed to be a gang hitman who ordered the killers to remove all traces of the crime, the New York _Times_ [reported](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/17/world/americas/suspect-in-disappearance-of-43-mexican-students-is-held.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news "undefined"). The case has roiled Mexico in the past months, exposing the depth of police corruption and criminal infiltration in the country’s politics. Police say 43 students were arrested by municipal police in the southern city of Iguala, in the state of Guerrero in September. According to Mexican authorities, the city’s mayor, José Luis Abarca, handed them over to an organized crime gang called [Guerreros Unidos](http://time.com/3574191/mexico-missing-students-drug-gang-killed/ "undefined"), who killed the students. The students were in college and training to be teachers. Their families have questioned whether the students are dead, as only one has been identified in a special laboratory in Austria. A new search for the students began near Iguala on Friday. **Read More**: [Mexico’s Nightmare](Mexico’s%20Nightmare "undefined") Mayor Abarca and his wife, who are believed to be [closely linked](http://time.com/3532773/mayor-wife-tied-to-disappearance-of-43-students-in-mexico/ "undefined") to the Guerreros Unidos, fled to Mexico City, where they were arrested. Abarca was charged with kidnapping on Tuesday, in connection with the students’ disappearance. The case has challenged President Enrique Peña Nieto, who has sought to turn attention to the country’s economy. **Read More**: [How the Disappearance of 43 Students Has Tested Mexico’s President](How%20the Disappearance of 43 Students Has Tested Mexico’s President "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3672726/gang-member-mexico-student-disappearances/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3672726/gang-member-mexico-student-disappearances/"},"headline":"Gang Member Held After Disappearance of 43 Mexican Students","datePublished":"2015-01-17T20:32:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:40:04.627Z","description":"A purported hitman, Felipe Rodríguez Salgado may add more details to a tale of endemic corruption and endless gang warfare in Mexico","url":"https://time.com/3672726/gang-member-mexico-student-disappearances/","keywords":["Crime","Mexico"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt199af61849e9b924/69877a8ff887dc3455e89971/mexico-students.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt199af61849e9b924/69877a8ff887dc3455e89971/mexico-students.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Protestors and family of 43 missing students from Guerrero State in Mexico march to protest the government and demand answers of the missing students on Nov. 5, 2014 in Mexico, City.","caption":"Protestors and family of 43 missing students from Guerrero State in Mexico march to protest the government and demand answers of the missing students on Nov. 5, 2014 in Mexico, City.","creditText":"Brett Gundlock—;Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3672726/gang-member-mexico-student-disappearances/","name":"Gang Member Held After Disappearance of 43 Mexican Students"}}]}] ```