Young student from Gran Canaria murdered in Mexico

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Claudia Tacoronte Aguilera, a 21-year-old student from Santa Brígida on Gran Canaria, was killed on Saturday in Cuautla, in the Mexican state of Morelos.
The Morelos Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating a possible case of femicide and has launched an inquiry.
The universities of Granada and Las Palmas observed a minute's silence for the student, who had previously been active on La Palma and with the Scouts.

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Claudia Tacoronte Aguilera, from Santa Brígida on Gran Canaria, has been murdered in Mexico. The 21-year-old student died on Saturday in Cuautla, in the state of Morelos. She had been taking part in an exchange programme at the Autonomous University of Morelos (UAEM) there for around a month. The incident came to light on Monday.

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According to initial reports and witness statements, an assailant stabbed her near the Casa de la Cultura in Cuautla, around 100 kilometres south of Mexico City, during an attempted robbery. Other accounts suggest that the assailant attacked her with a bladed weapon as she tried to flee. The possibility of a femicide is also not being ruled out at this stage.

This was confirmed by the public prosecutor in charge, Fernando Blumenkron. The Governor of Morelos, Margarita González Saravia, also said: «The State Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation and initiated the relevant procedures. This institution will establish the circumstances of the incident and, where appropriate, determine who is responsible in the course of the investigation.»

Minutes‘ silence at universities in Granada and Las Palmas

The University of Granada, where Tacoronte was in her fourth year of studying Early Childhood Education, called for a minute’s silence at 11 am on Monday. In a statement, the university expressed its strongest rejection and unreserved condemnation of the crime and offered its condolences and solidarity to the family. The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) also observed a minute’s silence. The student had been enrolled there for a year before transferring to Granada.

In a statement, the host university, UAEM, expressed deep outrage at the student’s death and called on the public prosecutor’s office to conduct an immediate and thorough investigation, taking a gender perspective into account. The university extended its condolences to the family, friends and fellow students, to the University of Granada, and to the Spanish government and society.

Gran Canaria: The murdered student’s involvement in Santa Brígida

Before moving to Granada, Tacoronte had attended the IES Nelson Mandela secondary school in Tafira. The young woman lived in El Monte, a village in the municipality of Santa Brígida.

In her home town, she was heavily involved in the activities organised by the youth department of Santa Brígida Town Council. She volunteered on La Palma following the volcanic eruption at Cumbre Vieja. The young woman was also a member of the Scouts de Santa Brígida and returned after the pandemic to help rebuild the organisation during a difficult period.