Suspect in Spanish student’s murder arrested in Morelos

Francisco Javier N., known as El Trompas, was taken into custody by police in Cuautla, Morelos. He is accused of stabbing 21‑year‑old Spanish exchange student Claudia Tacoronte Aguilera during a medicinal‑plants gathering at the Casa de la Cultura. The suspect told authorities he stabbed the victim and took her mobile phone.

Mexican prosecutors are investigating whether the attack was preceded by an attempted sexual assault, citing surveillance video that shows a conversation between the suspect and the victim before the stabbing. The arrest involved coordination among the Secretaría de Seguridad y Protección Ciudadana, the Guardia Nacional, the Fiscalía General de la República and other federal bodies. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares thanked Mexican officials for the rapid response, and the victim’s father is in Cuernavaca to arrange repatriation of her body.