Mexican authorities arrested this Thursday the alleged perpetrator of the murder of the young Spanish student Claudia Tacoronte, 21 years old, who was stabbed on Saturday in the municipality of Cuautla, in the state of Morelos (central). The Prosecutor’s Office will charge him with the crime of femicide and will seek a maximum sentence of 70 years in prison for the detainee.
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The Secretary of Security of Mexico, Omar García Harfuch, reported the arrest of the suspect in the crime in a message on X, in which he included a photograph of the detainee. According to sources familiar with the case who informed EFE, the arrest took place in Cuautla, the place where the crime occurred and located 120 kilometers south of Mexico City.
Tacoronte is the fourth UAEM student murdered in just seven months
The suspect, identified as Francisco Javier, alias El Trompas, has been wanted since Wednesday, when the authorities managed to establish his identity.
The arrest, announced five days after the crime, occurred less than 30 hours after the Morelos Prosecutor’s Office issued a wanted notice against the suspect on Wednesday, identified as the probable perpetrator of the crime of femicide.
García Harfuch detailed that the arrest was the result of coordinated efforts to locate the alleged murderer, as agents from various institutions participated in the operation, such as the Navy, the National Guard, the Attorney General’s Office (FGR), the Morelos Prosecutor’s Office, and state authorities.
Finally, the official stated that the prevention of femicides is a priority for the Mexican Government.
“When it has not been possible to prevent a woman from becoming a victim of this violence, our obligation is to clarify the facts, arrest those responsible, and fight impunity with all the force of the State,” he said.
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The detainee, who allegedly has a criminal record, is identified as the probable perpetrator of the crime of femicide, under which violent deaths of women in the country are initially investigated until it is determined whether there were gender-related reasons behind the crime.
Tacoronte was murdered with a bladed weapon last Saturday, September 12, in Cuautla, where she had gone to the National Fair of Traditional Medicine.
The young woman had arrived in Mexico in mid-August to carry out an academic exchange at the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos (UAEM) and lived in the city of Cuernavaca, the state capital located about 80 kilometers south of Mexico City and 50 kilometers from Cuautla.
The murder has caused outrage inside and outside Mexico after it became known that Tacoronte is the fourth UAEM student murdered in just seven months, following the cases of Kimberly Ramos, Karol Toledo, and Michelle Itzayana Fuentes, which had already sparked protests and student strikes.
Morelos records the second highest rate in the country for femicide (1.97 victims per 100,000 women, compared to a national average of 0.55) and intentional homicide of women: (4.49, compared to a national average of 1.27), according to data from the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System.
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