A Mexican military official confirmed that eight soldiers have been arrested and transferred to a military prison due to their suspected involvement in the events surrounding the disappearance of 43 students from a rural teacher’s college in southern Mexico in 2014. The official, who requested anonymity, stated that the soldiers are currently awaiting potential charges from civilian prosecutors.
In September, the Attorney General’s Office came under fire for cancelling some 21 arrest orders for suspects — including 16 members of the military — without explanation. It was not clear whether the eight arrested this week were among those arrest warrants were previously withdrawn.

Security forces abducted the students from buses in Iguala on Sept. 26, 2014, and turned them over to a local drug gang. New revelations implicate the military in the disappearances, but the motive for the students’ abduction remains unclear, though there is growing evidence it may have involved police and military collusion with drug traffickers.

Soldiers charged with abuses against civilians must be tried by civilian courts in Mexico, but can be held at military prisons.