Mexican officials confirm ID of body in case of 43 missing students

Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said Sunday that the charred remains found in a landfill near El Pericon — approximately 124 miles south of Iguala, where the college students vanished — are those of 19-year-old Alexander Mora Venancio. The body was identified through forensic analysis performed in Austria.

Officials told Mora Venancio’s relatives, who live in El Pericon, and his former classmates at the Rural Normal School in Ayotzinapa on Friday.

The development sparked anger and renewed protests in Mexico City on Saturday.

“We are not crying for Alexander, to the contrary, we know that his fall will result in the flower of revolution for a deep change in our country,” said Felipe de la Cruz Sandoval, a father of one of the missing students.

“That no matter where he is, he should know that the fathers of the families are not going to rest until there is justice.”

Mora Venancio and 42 other teacher trainees disappeared while participating in demonstrations against school budget cuts in the city of Iguala on Sept. 26. Massive protests in Mexico ensued following reports of police involvement in the students’ disappearance.

Murillo Karam said in a press conference on Sunday that authorities have detained 80 people, including Iguala’s mayor and his wife, for possible involvement in the disappearance of the students.