Mexican authorities have arrested Gildardo Lopez Astudillo, an alleged cartel leader linked to the notorious 2014 disappearance of 43 students in Iguala. The arrest comes just weeks before the 10th anniversary of the tragic event, which remains one of Mexico’s most haunting unresolved cases.

Lopez Astudillo, also known as “El Gil,” was detained on charges of organized crime and has been transferred to the Altiplano maximum-security prison in south-central Mexico, according to a federal security source cited by Reuters. This is the second time Lopez Astudillo has been arrested in connection with the case; he was previously jailed in 2015 but was released in 2019 after a judge ruled that the evidence against him had been obtained illegally.

Following his release, Lopez Astudillo served as a protected witness for the prosecution, allegedly providing key details about the involvement of the Guerreros Unidos cartel in the students’ disappearance. Despite this, the case has remained shrouded in mystery, with the exact circumstances of what happened to the students still unclear.

The arrest of Lopez Astudillo coincides with preparations by the families of the missing students to mark the 10th anniversary of their disappearance with demonstrations and renewed calls for justice. The case, which saw the students allegedly kidnapped by the Guerreros Unidos cartel in collusion with corrupt police, has long been a source of outrage and has led to widespread protests across Mexico.

A government-appointed truth commission has since labeled the incident a “state crime,” implicating the military in the students’ disappearance either directly or through negligence. The commission’s findings have led to the arrest or issuance of warrants for dozens of suspects, including military personnel and a former attorney general who led a controversial initial investigation into the case.

As Mexico approaches the 10th anniversary of this dark chapter, the arrest of Lopez Astudillo reignites hope that justice may finally be served for the 43 missing students and their families.