Mexico responded to a Spanish woman’s murder with urgency. Some say it’s not doing enough for female victims at home

By Michael Rios, CNN

(CNN) — The recent murder of a female foreign exchange student in central Mexico has cast international attention on the country’s high levels of violence against women, prompting the Mexican government to act with an urgency that some say it often lacks in cases involving its own nationals.

Claudia Tacoronte Aguilera, a 21-year-old student from Spain, was killed by a man during an armed robbery near a cultural center on September 12, just a month after she arrived in Mexico for her exchange program at the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos (UAEM), according to state prosecutor Fernando Blumenkron.

His office said authorities on Thursday arrested a suspect, charging him with feminicide, a crime in which a woman is intentionally killed for reasons related to her gender. CNN is seeking to determine whether the suspect has legal representation and how he intends to plead.

Tacoronte’s murder sparked outcry across Mexico, with hundreds of people protesting last week to demand justice for the Spaniard as well as thousands of Mexican women killed over the years – including other female students from UAEM in recent months.

“Feminicide is definitely one of the biggest problems in Mexico,” said Paulina Garcia-Del Moral, an associate professor at Canada’s University of Guelph, whose research specializes in examining the intersection of law, gender and power in many countries, including Mexico. “It is a really large problem precisely because … impunity is rampant in Mexico for all kinds of crimes.”

Mexico’s government, which CNN has contacted for comment, has insisted publicly that there will be “zero impunity” for feminicide. But many women say they feel vulnerable and are demanding more action from officials, particularly in states like Morelos, where Tacoronte was killed.

Here’s how the crisis is affecting the country, how officials have responded to it, and what experts say still needs to be addressed.

‘We are very unprotected’

Mexico is considered one of the worst countries in the world for women’s security, ranking 147th out of 181 in the 2025/26 global Women, Peace and Security Index.

Officials have reported more than 9,100 feminicide cases nationwide since 2016, including 382 between January to July of this year. In that six-month span, the state of Morelos had the second-highest rate of cases (1.97 per 100,000 women), according to official figures.

“We are very unprotected in the state of Morelos, given the prevailing insecurity and the failure of the authorities to act,” rights activist Zayra Hernandez told CNN.

Hernandez is a member of Young Women Against Institutional Violence (Morras contra la Violencia Institucional), a group that was formed by victims primarily of sexual violence within UAEM, where Tacoronte was a foreign exchange student.

Hernandez said she had been sexually assaulted by a fellow student when she attended the university and was physically attacked by another schoolmate.

“Of course, we walk around with great fear, knowing that at any moment we could be effectively assaulted,” she said.

Garcia-Del Moral notes that feminicides can happen both in public and private settings – including as a result of domestic or intimate partner violence.

There are many factors that contribute to violence against women in Mexico, experts say, including gender inequality, pervasive sexist tropes and a high rate of impunity for killing women.

“The vast majority of femicide or homicide cases don’t result in the identification of a suspect and often don’t result in those suspects being brought to justice,” said David Shirk, a professor at the University of San Diego’s Department of Political Science and International Relations.

If crimes go unpunished, Garcia-Del Moral argued, it sends a message that people can continue to kill women without consequences.

How have officials responded?

In Spain, high-level government officials condemned Tacoronte’s murder and demanded a thorough investigation.

The Mexican government responded with a multi-agency operation involving the defense ministry, the navy, the national guard, the ministry of public security, as well as state and federal prosecutors.

Many welcomed the response but some accused the government of being slower to act when its own citizens are killed.

“That doesn’t happen on a day-to-day basis in Mexico, and certainly not for our female colleagues from Morelos,” said Hernandez.

While it’s a commonly held view, data isn’t collected on the topic. Even so, experts say the heavy attention this case received likely pressured Mexico to act.

“Are authorities more likely to be responsive to cases that receive a high degree of publicity? I think the answer is yes,” said Shirk. “And then the question is: Do cases involving foreign nationals generally get a higher level of publicity? I would say yes.”

CNN has reached out to the Mexican secretariats of women and security for comment.

On Friday, authorities in Jalisco state announced the arrest of a suspect in a different high-profile feminicide case involving a Mexican medical student, Karla Perez.

Mexico’s Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection Omar Garcia Harfuch insisted Thursday that preventing feminicides is one of the government’s priorities.

“When we have not succeeded in preventing a woman from becoming a victim of this violence, our obligation is to clarify the facts, apprehend those responsible, and combat impunity with all the force of the state,” he said on X when he announced the arrest of Tacoronte’s suspected killer.

Investigators have charged the suspect with feminicide and will seek a maximum prison sentence of 70 years, the state prosecutor said.

While “feminicide” and “femicide” are often used interchangeably in English to define the gender-based killing of women, Garcia-Del Moral said there were subtle differences between the two terms in the Mexican context, with “feminicide” focusing more on the broader, structural conditions that led to the crime.

A feminicide case activates protocols that outline how prosecutors, police and forensic experts should carry out their investigations, emphasizing the use of a gender perspective, Garcia-Del Moral explained.

Though Tacoronte’s killing is being treated as a feminicide in the early stages of the investigation, Shirk points out that in previous cases the criminal charge has sometimes been later changed to a homicide, which carries a shorter sentence. This can happen if prosecutors determine that they won’t be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a suspect killed the victim because of her gender.

In those instances, homicide may be a more viable alternative for prosecutors because “it’s much easier to prove that you killed someone than the fact that your motivation was gender-based or gender bias,” Shirk said.

How have universities responded?

UAEM, the Mexican university where Tacoronte was an exchange student, had demanded that prosecutors conduct “an immediate, thorough investigation with a strict gender perspective to guarantee justice and prevent impunity.”

But activists also urged the school itself to take more action, with some criticizing it for what they say is a lack of protection for women.

At least three female UAEM students were killed earlier this year before Tacoronte’s murder, according to the National Citizen Observatory on Feminicide, a renowned organization representing 40 organizations from 22 Mexican states that specializes in the issue.

The school has protocols in place to try to prevent violence and discrimination against women on campus, but critics say it’s clearly not enough given the recent killings.

CNN has contacted the university to see if it will take additional steps to protect students.

Spain’s University of Granada (UGR), where Tacoronte was studying early childhood education, said it will not send students to the state of Morelos in the coming semester.

“Three students who were scheduled to go there for the second semester will no longer be doing so because we have suspended those placements,” said Inmaculada Marrero Rocha, vice-rector for internationalization.

Other UGR exchange students in different parts of Mexico have been offered a chance to return to Spain, but Marrero Rocha said they have chosen to stay.

She said students who study abroad are briefed about security conditions in different countries and are advised to take precautions.

Other international schools have previously suspended or limited study abroad programs in parts of Mexico due to security concerns.

What more can be done?

Garcia-Del Moral said the country must strengthen institutions to reduce impunity. She also advised the government to better train public servants to recognize how gender inequality shapes violence and “focus on transforming ways of viewing women.”

Similarly, Hernandez said officials should view the crisis through a gender perspective rather than treating it as solely a security problem.

For students and foreigners visiting Mexico, Shirk advised exercising caution and being informed about the risks there but noted that the country still has a lot to offer.

“Every day, hundreds of thousands of people (are) going into Mexico and having a wonderful time, enjoying the culture, the food,” he said.

Hernandez added that while Morelos’ security problems need to be addressed, its dignity should be recognized, as well.

“Our community – the general population – is a very beautiful and dignified place,” she said. “Yet, in the face of this wave of insecurity … we are standing firm and resisting.”

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CNN’s Mauricio Torres and Rocío Muñoz-Ledo contributed reporting.