UAEMéx student deaths in Mexico

A series of incidents involving missing students from the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEMéx) has occurred in the State of Mexico.

In early September, 19-year-old student Carlos Alexander Ortiz Sánchez was found dead in Toluca after being missing since September 3. Reports indicated he was struck by a vehicle on Paseo Tollocan during the early hours of a Friday. The driver of a Totalplay company vehicle reportedly remained at the scene.

Later in the month, the community of Santiago Tolman in Otumba reported the deaths of two more UAEMéx affiliates. Joselyn Sandoval Calderón, a 21-year-old law student, and her partner, recent graduate Juan Carlos Ortiz Bravo, went missing on September 21. Ortiz Bravo and another unidentified young man were found dead in a vehicle with gunshot wounds, while Sandoval Calderón’s body was discovered near the Mexico-Tulancingo highway.

Following these triple homicides, residents of Otumba and the Valle de Teotihuacán region have expressed deep fear and indignation regarding a rise in criminal activity, including daylight robberies and shootings. Local citizens and families are demanding justice and calling for an increased presence from federal and state security forces to address growing insecurity. UAEMéx has condemned these homicides and called for investigations to include a “gender perspective.”