By Nancy Caouette
MEXICO CITY
The wife of former mayor in a high profile case was given a formal order of prison by a Mexican court on Monday, authorities said.
The court said the ruling against Maria de los Angeles Pineda Villa was for her alleged ties to the Guerreros Unidos, or United Warriors, drug cartel, operating in the state of Guerrero, beginning in 2005.
Pinada Villa "offered protection and financial support to the group through the purchase of properties and furniture and the transfer of money coming from the drug profits," the court said.
Since 2009, she received deposits that totaled about $900,000 in four bank accounts and failed to report $225,000 in income from between 2009 and 2012, according to the judge in the case.
Pineda Villa and her husband, Jose Luis Abarca, were arrested Nov. 6 in Mexico City, after being on the lam for more than a month, for their alleged role in the disappearance of 43 male students from Ayotzinapa college on Sept. 26 in Iguala.
Officials believe the couple instructed local police and Guerrero Unidos members to kidnap and kill the students.
Three gang members later confessed to killing the students and burning their bodies but the attorney general’s office has yet to bring any formal charges against the couple in connection to the crime due to a lack of evidence.
To date, the remains of just one student have been found and identified through DNA testing.
The investigation has revealed strong ties between government officials and organized crime and forced the resignation of Guerrero’s governor.
Nationwide demonstrations that ensued have demanded greater transparency from federal authorities and calls for President Enrique Pena Nieto to also resign.
