Granada University student murder: alleged repeat offender arrested in Mexico

Mexico's Secretary of Security Omar García Harfuch announced the arrest in a post on X, with a photograph of the detainee: Francisco Javier, alias El Trompas.

According to sources, the arrest took place in Cuautla, the location where the crime on Saturday occurred, 120 kilometres south of Mexico City.

The arrest came less than 30 hours after the Morelos prosecution issued an arrest warrant for the suspect. The operation involved various police and military units.

Gracía Harfuch said that the prevention of femicides, which is how they are treating the murder of Claudia, is a priority for the Mexican government.

"When we have been unable to prevent a woman from becoming a victim of this violence, it is our duty to establish the facts, arrest those responsible and combat impunity with the full force of the state," he said.

The detainee, who allegedly has a criminal record, is suspected of being responsible for the offence of femicide, under which the violent deaths of women in the country are initially investigated to determine whether the crime was gender-based.

Tacoronte was stabbed to death on Saturday, 12 September, in Cuautla, where was attending the XLII Fiesta Nacional de la Planta Medicinal.

The young woman had arrived in Mexico in mid-August to take part in an academic exchange programme at the UAEM (Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos). She was living in Cuernavaca, the state capital, some 80 kilometres south of Mexico City and 50 kilometres from Cuautla.

The murder sparked outrage when news said that Tacoronte was the fourth UAEM student to be murdered in just seven months, following the cases of Kimberly Ramos, Karol Toledo and Michelle Itzayana Fuentes. These cases have led to student protests.

Morelos has the second-highest rate in the country for femicide (1.97 victims per 100,000 women, compared with a national average of 0.55) and for intentional homicides of women (4.49, compared with a national average of 1.27), according to data from the Secretariado Ejecutivo del Sistema Nacional de Seguridad.

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