U.S. turns key suspect in mass student disappearance case over to Mexico

American law enforcement officials have located, detained and extradited a key suspect whom they believe was involved in one of Mexico’s most baffling mass disappearance cases.

The investigation stems from an incident which occurred in 2014 when 43 students who were on their way to Mexico City in school busses from a small town, suddenly disappeared.

The suspect in question was detained after he tried to cross the U.S. southwest border on Dec. 20 without the right documentation.

Reports have confirmed that Mexico’s National Immigration Institute originally identified the man’s first name as Alejandro, but that a federal agent said his full name was Alejandro Tenescalco, according to NBC Latino News.

The institute told journalists that U.S. border officials determined Tenescalo was not eligible for asylum in the United States.

Prior to his arrest, Tenescalco served in Mexico as a law enforcement supervisor in the City of Iguala, the location where the students suddenly went missing.

It was later determined after a law enforcement investigation that the students were abducted by municipal police. Federal Mexican investigators believe corrupt, local law enforcement officers kidnapped  the students and turned them over to a local drug cartel who mistook them for a rival gang.

As a result, the kidnapped students were tragically killed, and their bodies were burned.

Tenescalco has since been named as “one of the main perpetrators” of the kidnapping and killings by

Alejandro Encinas, one of the top officials with Mexico’s Truth Commission.

The disgraced former police supervisor, whose arrest previously called for a $500,000 reward is now facing kidnapping and organized crime charges.

The Truth Commission has called the disappearances a “state crime,” the crimes involved kidnappings and a purported cover-up by law enforcement.

So far, the federal investigations have brought charges against three soldiers, which includes a retired general who was the area military commander when the kidnappings happened.

The scandal has also included former federal Attorney General, Jesús Murillo Karam, now accused of manipulating evidence as part of the purported cover up.