Mexican students’ disappearance was a state-sponsored crime, truth panel says

The disappearance of 43 Mexican students after they were ambushed by police officers in 2014 was a state-sponsored crime involving federal and state authorities at the highest levels of government, according to the final report of a government truth commission.

The commission, created by the current administration, confirmed that the federal government, including the Mexican military and federal police, were aware of the students' movements from the time they left their rural school campus in the state of Guerrero to their arrival in the city of Iguala where the students were abducted the night of September 24.

Local law enforcement officials then worked in conjunction with a large group of cartel gunmen and lookouts to forcibly disappear the students, the report confirmed.

The Mexican military, marines and the recently-created national guard, all provided documents, video and wiretaps to the commission, according to the report.

The case shook the country even as the Mexican government sought to cover up the crime, insisting that only local authorities and cartel members were responsible for the crime. To date, remains of only three of the 43 students have been identified.