The Attorney General’s Office of the Republic (FGR) confirmed the capture of Gildardo López Astudillo, alias “El Gil”, alleged leader of the Guerreros Unidos criminal groupwho at the time was pointed out as one of the Main responsible for the disappearance of the 43 students normalistas of Ayotzinapa.
The arrest took place on Thursday night in Mexico City, under an arrest warrant for the crime of organized crime, according to the National Registry of Arrests of the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection.
López Astudillo was taken into custody and transferred to the maximum security prison in The Altiplano, in the State of Mexico.
Although authorities have not offered details about the exact reasons for his arrest, it is speculated that the order comes from criminal case 7/2016, related to drug trafficking and organized crime crimes involving other members of Guerreros Unidos, such as José Luis Ramírez Arriaga, alias “El Churros.”
“El Gil” had become a key figure in the case Ayotzinapanot only for having been accused in 2015 of participating in the kidnapping of the students, but also for his subsequent role as a protected witness under the alias “Juan.”
During the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, that status was granted as part of the investigations to clarify the forced disappearance of the 43 normalistas in Iguala, Guerrero.
However, in 2019 he was released after the evidence against him was dismissed, causing great controversy and being criticized by the families of the missing and human rights organizations.
The FGR has not issued a detailed official statement on the background of López Astudillo’s capture, although sources close to the process indicate that his arrest responds to new investigations into his connection to the Guerreros Unidos criminal structure.
This group is identified as one of the main perpetrators of the attack and subsequent disappearance of the Ayotzinapa students, in coordination with local police and other organized crime groups in the region.
“El Gil”, one of the perpetrators of the disappearance of the 43 students from Ayotzinapa
Gildardo López Astudillo, known as “El Gil” and identified as one of the main perpetrators of the disappearance of the 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Teachers’ College in 2014, was arrested again by the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) on charges of organized crime.
López Astudillo had been arrested for the first time in September 2015, after being identified as a key actor in the disappearance of the normalista students, who were allegedly handed over to the criminal group Guerreros Unidos, on the orders of its leader, Sidronio Casarrubias Salgado.
“El Gil” was accused of orchestrating the kidnapping of the young men, who had been intercepted in Iguala, Guerrero, while they were heading to commemorate the anniversary of the Tlatelolco massacre.
Despite the seriousness of the charges, in 2019 a federal judge ordered his release after determining that the evidence against him, obtained during the investigation, had been obtained illegally.
This ruling outraged the families of the missing and various sectors of society, who accused the judicial system of obstructing justice in one of the most sensitive and painful cases in recent Mexican history.
After his release, “El Gil” joined the investigations in 2020 as a protected witness of the then Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
The students’ families continue to demand truth and full justice, while expressing skepticism about the handling of the judicial proceedings related to the case.
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