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Tomas Zeron, director of criminal investigations at the
federal Attorney General's office, said that prosecutors had
obtained an arrest warrant for former mayor Jose Luis Abarca and
44 others on charges of kidnapping the 43 students.
President Enrique Pena Nieto is facing his deepest crisis over
the government's handling of the investigation. Anger over the
case spurred sometimes violent demonstrations around the country
late last year.
Zeron did not specify when the warrant was obtained, but it
appeared to be the first charges filed against Abarca that are
directly related to the students' disappearance even though
authorities have said the mayor and his wife were the
masterminds of the kidnappings since October.
Zeron spoke to reporters after meeting with family members of
the missing students.
The students were allegedly abducted by police working with a
local drug gang in the southwestern city of Iguala on the night
of Sept. 26. On Monday, the federal courts authority said a
judge had ruled Abarca's wife will stand trial for links to
organized crime.
Abarca and his wife, Maria de los Angeles Pineda were captured
by federal police in Mexico City in November.
Abarca was already facing charges of links to organized crime as
well as kidnapping and murder charges related to other cases
besides the students.
(Reporting by Noe Torres and Michael O'Boyle; Editing by Jeremy
Laurence)
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