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

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.

Margarito Perez Retana/Reuters

“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.

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.

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

From Claudia Tacoronte Aguilera/Instagram

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.

Mexican authorities are investigating the murder of 23 year old Valeria Márquez - which was caught on video during a livestream - as a femicide. CNN’s Max Foster speaks with Jillian Peterson, Executive Director of The Violence Prevention Project, about femicide and why it is on the rise.

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.

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.”

Miguel Banuelos/AFP/Getty Images

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.

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.”

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

最近，一名女交换生在墨西哥中部被谋杀，这起案件引起了国际社会对该国针对女性的暴力行为高发的关注，促使墨西哥政府采取了紧急行动，而一些人认为，墨西哥政府在涉及本国公民的案件中往往缺乏这种行动。

据州检察官费尔南多·布卢门克龙称，来自西班牙的 21 岁学生克劳迪娅·塔科龙特·阿吉莱拉于 9 月 12 日在文化中心附近遭遇武装抢劫时被一名男子杀害。就在一个月前，她抵达墨西哥，参加莫雷洛斯州自治大学 (UAEM) 的交换项目。

他的办公室称，当局周四逮捕了一名嫌疑人，指控其犯有杀害女性罪，该罪名指的是因性别原因故意杀害女性。CNN正在调查该嫌疑人是否聘请了律师以及他打算如何答辩。

塔科龙特的遇害在墨西哥引发了强烈抗议，上周数百人举行抗议活动，要求为这位西班牙女子以及多年来被杀害的数千名墨西哥女性伸张正义——其中包括最近几个月来自 UAEM 的其他女学生。

马加里托·佩雷斯·雷塔纳/路透社

“杀害女性无疑是墨西哥最大的问题之一，”加拿大圭尔夫大学副教授保利娜·加西亚-德尔·莫拉尔说道。她的研究专长是探讨包括墨西哥在内的许多国家的法律、性别和权力之间的交集。“这确实是一个非常严重的问题，因为……在墨西哥，各种犯罪都普遍存在不受惩罚的现象。”

CNN已联系墨西哥政府寻求置评，政府方面公开坚称，对于杀害女性的行为将“零容忍”。但许多女性表示她们感到自身处境脆弱，并要求官员采取更多行动，尤其是在像塔科龙特遇害的莫雷洛斯州这样的地区。

以下是这场危机对国家的影响、官员们的应对措施，以及专家们认为仍需解决的问题。

墨西哥被认为是世界上女性安全状况最差的国家之一，在 2025/26 年全球妇女、和平与安全指数中排名第 147 位（共 181 个国家）。

据官方报告，自2016年以来，全国已发生超过9100起杀害女性案件，其中包括今年1月至7月发生的382起。官方数据显示，在这六个月期间，莫雷洛斯州的案件发生率位居第二（每10万名女性中有1.97人）。

“鉴于莫雷洛斯州普遍存在的不安全局势以及当局的不作为，我们在这里非常没有安全保障，”人权活动家扎伊拉·埃尔南德斯告诉 CNN。

Hernandez 是反对制度性暴力的青年女性组织 (Morras contra la Violencia Institucional) 的成员，该组织主要由 UAEM 内的性暴力受害者组成，Tacoronte 曾是该校的交换生。

埃尔南德斯说，她在大学期间曾遭到一名同学的性侵犯，还曾遭到另一名同学的肢体攻击。

“当然，我们每天都生活在恐惧之中，因为我们知道随时都可能遭到袭击，”她说。

Garcia-Del Moral 指出，杀害女性的事件可能发生在公共场所和私人场所——包括家庭暴力或亲密伴侣暴力造成的事件。

专家表示，导致墨西哥针对妇女的暴力行为的因素有很多，包括性别不平等、普遍存在的性别歧视观念以及杀害妇女却不受惩罚的高比例。

“绝大多数杀害女性或凶杀案都无法确定嫌疑人，而且往往也无法将这些嫌疑人绳之以法，”圣地亚哥大学政治学和国际关系系教授大卫·希尔克说。

加西亚-德尔·莫拉尔认为，如果犯罪行为得不到惩罚，就会传递出人们可以继续杀害女性而无需承担后果的信息。

在西班牙，高级政府官员谴责了塔科龙特的谋杀案，并要求进行彻底调查。

来自克劳迪娅·塔科龙特·阿奎莱拉/Instagram

墨西哥政府随即展开了多部门联合行动，参与机构包括国防部、海军、国民警卫队、公共安全部以及州和联邦检察官。

许多人对政府的回应表示欢迎，但也有人指责政府在本国公民被杀害时反应迟缓。

“这种情况在墨西哥不会每天都发生，当然也不会发生在我们来自莫雷洛斯的女同事身上，”埃尔南德斯说。

虽然这是一种普遍观点，但目前并没有关于此主题的数据收集。即便如此，专家表示，此案受到的高度关注很可能迫使墨西哥采取了行动。

“当局是否更有可能对那些获得高度关注的案件做出回应？我认为答案是肯定的，”希尔克说。“那么问题来了：涉及外国公民的案件是否通常会获得更高的关注度？我的答案也是肯定的。”

CNN已联系墨西哥妇女事务部和安全事务部征求意见。

周五，哈利斯科州当局宣布逮捕了一名嫌疑人，此人涉嫌参与另一起备受瞩目的女性谋杀案，受害者是墨西哥医学生卡拉·佩雷斯。

墨西哥安全和公民保护部长奥马尔·加西亚·哈尔富奇周四坚称，防止杀害女性是政府的优先事项之一。

“当我们未能阻止一名妇女成为这种暴力行为的受害者时，我们的义务是查明事实，逮捕责任人，并动用国家的一切力量打击有罪不罚现象，”他在宣布逮捕塔科龙特嫌疑凶手时在X电视台说道。

州检察官表示，调查人员已对嫌疑人提起杀害女性的指控，并将寻求判处最高 70 年监禁。

虽然在英语中，“feminicide”和“femicide”经常被互换使用来定义基于性别的杀害女性的行为，但Garcia-Del Moral表示，在墨西哥语境中，这两个术语之间存在细微的差别，“feminicide”更侧重于导致犯罪的更广泛的结构性条件。

Garcia-Del Moral解释说，杀害女性案件会启动相关程序，规定检察官、警察和法医专家应该如何开展调查，强调要运用性别视角。

墨西哥当局正在调查23岁女子瓦莱里娅·马尔克斯被谋杀的案件，该案被直播视频记录下来，当局将其定性为杀害女性罪。CNN记者马克斯·福斯特采访了暴力预防项目执行主任吉莉安·彼得森，探讨了杀害女性罪及其案件数量上升的原因。

尽管塔科隆特遇害案在调查初期被定性为杀害女性罪，但希尔克指出，在以往的案例中，刑事指控有时会被改为谋杀罪，而谋杀罪的刑期通常较短。这种情况可能发生在检察官认定无法排除合理怀疑地证明嫌疑人因受害者的性别而将其杀害时。

希尔克说，在这些情况下，谋杀罪可能对检察官来说是一个更可行的选择，因为“证明你杀了人比证明你的动机是基于性别或性别偏见要容易得多”。

塔科龙特曾就读的墨西哥大学 UAEM 要求检察官“立即进行彻底调查，严格从性别角度出发，以保障正义并防止有罪不罚现象”。

米格尔·巴努埃洛斯/法新社/盖蒂图片社

但活动人士也敦促学校本身采取更多行动，一些人批评学校缺乏对女性的保护。

据全国公民杀害女性观察站（一个代表墨西哥 22 个州 40 个专门研究此问题的著名组织）称，今年早些时候，至少有三名 UAEM 女学生在塔科龙特遇害之前被杀害。

学校制定了相关规章制度，试图防止校园内发生针对女性的暴力和歧视事件，但批评人士表示，鉴于最近发生的杀戮事件，这些规章制度显然还不够。

CNN已联系该大学，询问其是否会采取进一步措施保护学生。

塔科龙特就读的西班牙格拉纳达大学（UGR）表示，下学期将不会派学生前往莫雷洛斯州。

“原定于第二学期前往那里的三名学生将不再前往，因为我们已经暂停了这些实习安排，”国际化副校长伊玛库拉达·马雷罗·罗查说道。

格拉纳达大学在墨西哥不同地区的其他交换生都有机会返回西班牙，但马雷罗·罗查表示，他们都选择留下来。

她说，出国留学的学生都会被告知不同国家的安全状况，并被建议采取预防措施。

此前，由于安全问题，其他国际学校也曾暂停或限制在墨西哥部分地区的留学项目。

加西亚-德尔·莫拉尔表示，该国必须加强制度建设以减少有罪不罚现象。她还建议政府更好地培训公务员，让他们认识到性别不平等如何导致暴力，并“着重转变看待女性的方式”。

埃尔南德斯也表示，官员们应该从性别角度看待这场危机，而不是仅仅将其视为一个安全问题。

对于前往墨西哥的学生和外国人，希尔克建议他们谨慎行事，了解当地的风险，但他同时指出，墨西哥仍然有很多值得探索的地方。

他说：“每天都有成千上万的人前往墨西哥，享受美好的时光，体验那里的文化和美食。”

埃尔南德斯补充说，虽然莫雷洛斯的安全问题需要解决，但其尊严也应该得到承认。

“我们的社区——我们的人民——是一个非常美丽而有尊严的地方，”她说。“然而，面对这波不安全感的浪潮……我们立场坚定，奋力抵抗。”

美国有线电视新闻网 (CNN) 的毛里西奥·托雷斯 (Mauricio Torres) 和罗西奥·穆尼奥斯·莱多 (Rocío Muñoz-Ledo) 提供了报道。