Did Mexico's 'First Lady of Murder' order mass killings? [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Did Mexico's 'First Lady of Murder' order mass killings?



Mayor's wife arrested with husband as police search for 43 missing students

Terrence McCoy
Thursday 06 November 2014

When 43 students vanished from the Mexican town of Iguala, the mayor’s wife arrived to the party in pink.
Maria de los Angeles Pineda was running to succeed her husband as mayor, and her campaign was in full swing.
She had bused in 3,000 people to the Plaza de las Tres Garantías, and pictures show a meticulously-organised stage, replete with a vast picture of Mrs Pineda. Afterwards, promised “Lady Iguala”, there would be dancing.

That dance was just about the last moment anyone in the town of about 100,000 saw the couple – until this week. Days ago, they were arrested for allegedly orchestrating the abduction of 43 students and colluding with a local cartel in a case that has roiled Mexico, spurred massive protests and gained international attention.

Mrs Pineda has now gained the recognition she sought, but on very different terms. A growing number of observers and authorities now suspect that she played a pivotal role in the students’ disappearance.

Routinely described as the “The First Lady of Murder,” or the “Queen of Iguala”, Mrs Pineda was the “key operator” of Iguala’s criminal network, gang leaders tell local press. The story of Maria de los Angeles Pineda illustrates the endemic collusion between state and criminal actors in the region, where politics, business and cartels converged to take a town hostage.

More:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/did-mexicos-first-lady-of-murder-order-mass-killings-9844934.html