[JURIST] Mexican officials issued final findings Tuesday into the disappearance of 43 students with Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam announcing at a press conference that the students were killed after being seized by police in southern Guerrero state. The investigation has led to the arrest of nearly 100 people [JURIST report] in connection with the disappearance, including gang members of Guerreros Unidos, Iguala police, the mayor of Iguala and his wife. The gathered evidence [AP report], including confessions and forensic evidence, support the officials’ belief that the students were kidnapped, held captive, killed, and their bodies incinerated and thrown into the San Juan river. DNA testing has only successfully identified one missing student from the evidence gathered from the crime scene, but the definitive conclusion reached by the Mexican officials presume all 43 dead. The investigation roused widespread criticism of the Mexican government since the disappearance of the students four months ago. Family members joined in a march Monday with thousands of other citizens demanding action.

The disappearance of these 43 students has brought about global condemnation and criticism of the Mexican government. Last week Amnesty International [advocacy website] criticized [JURIST report] the government of Mexico for their “failed” investigation of the army in the “enforced disappearance” of the 43 students. At the beginning of January Human Rights Watch [advocacy website] implored [JURIST report] US President Barack Obama [official profile] to press Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto [official profile, in Spanish] on human rights concerns during his upcoming meeting with the leader. In November 2014 Jose Luis Abarca, the former mayor of the Mexican city of Iguala, was charged [JURIST report] with six counts of aggravated homicide and one count of attempted homicide by prosecutors in the state of Guerrero in connection with the 43 students’ disappearance.