Mexico: 'Paco el Trompas,' prime suspect in murder of Spanish student in Morelos, arrested
Claudia Tacoronte was 21 years old and was studying Early Childhood Education at the University of Granada. She had arrived in Mexico just three weeks earlier to participate in an academic exchange program at the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos (UAEM).
Classmates of the murdered Spanish student
Mexican authorities arrested on Thursday the alleged killer of a Spanish college student who was participating in an academic exchange program.
Claudia Tacoronte Aguilera, 21, arrived in August from the University of Granada to the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos (UAEM). Last Saturday, she was attacked with a knife in Cuautla, about 75 miles south of Mexico City.
Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch reported on X that "the alleged perpetrator of this tragic crime has been arrested," without revealing the suspect's name.
Hours later, Morelos authorities identified the suspect as Francisco Javier "N." His last name is being withheld for legal reasons. The state prosecutor's office also reported that it will request the courts to investigate Tacoronte's murder as a femicide.
Morelos Attorney General Fernando Blumenkron said at a press conference that the victim's injuries "allow us to establish that what happened was a femicide, given the manner in which it was carried out."
He explained that the assailant, who also stole the victim's cell phone, inflicted "dishonorable injuries" that, under local law, constitute grounds for a femicide charge. Blumenkron ruled out, however, that the crime was "sexually motivated" and stated that his office will seek "the maximum sentence" for the assailant.
The protocol calling for these crimes to be classified as femicides aims to prevent the premature dismissal of possible gender-based motives in a country marked by gender-based violence.
The murder of Claudia Tacoronte
Last Saturday, she attended the National Medicinal Plant Festival in Cuautla, where, according to investigators, she was the victim of a robbery. After the attack, she tried to take refuge in the Casa de la Cultura, but the assailant followed her and "stabbed her several times" in the abdomen, according to her sister.
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