The murder of this female exchange student has shocked Mexico and Spain. Here’s what we know

By Rocío Muñoz-Ledo, CNN

(CNN) — Authorities are investigating the murder of a Spanish exchange student in Mexico as a possible feminicide, in a case that has shocked the academic community in both countries.

Claudia Tacoronte Aguilera was reportedly killed during an armed robbery on Saturday in Cuautla, a city in the Mexican state of Morelos near Mexico City, according to authorities.

The Morelos prosecutor’s office said it is working with federal agencies on the case and is investigating it as a possible feminicide — in which a woman is murdered due to gender-related reasons — though it has not ruled out other motives.

The 21-year-old was studying early childhood education at Spain’s University of Granada (UGR) and had traveled to Mexico just a month ago on an academic exchange program at the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos (UAEM).

“Claudia had embarked on this academic journey with the enthusiasm of a young woman building her future. That an experience so closely tied to her education and personal projects has ended in this way causes deep sorrow throughout the Santa Brígida community,” the city council of her hometown in Gran Canaria said in a statement.

The university has demanded that the state prosecutor’s office conduct “an immediate, thorough investigation with a strict gender perspective to guarantee justice and prevent impunity.”

Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares has also demanded a thorough investigation.

“We want to get to the bottom of this,” he told reporters Monday, noting that Spanish authorities are in contact with the young woman’s family.

Morelos Governor Margarita González Saravia said state authorities are working to find the person responsible.

What happened?

The killing happened Saturday night near a cultural center that was hosting a medicinal plant festival.

The young woman was killed as a result of an alleged robbery with a knife, according to the venue, which said that staff “immediately notified the authorities” after the incident.

She was staying at the center overnight for the festival, the state prosecutor said.

“Claudia came to this meeting with the desire to learn, live together and be part of a community gathered around knowledge, medicinal plants, health and collective care,” said the Tlahuilli Institute, which organized the event.

The killing happened in a state facing high levels of violence against women.

Morelos recorded 21 feminicide victims between January and July 2026, and at that time had one of the highest rates in the country, with 21 victims per 100,000 women, second only to Sinaloa, according to the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System.

What is ‘feminicide’?

While “femicide” — defined by the WHO as the gender-based killing of women — and “feminicide” are often used interchangeably in English, Paulina García-Del Moral, an associate professor at Canada’s University of Guelph, 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.

Such a case activates protocols that outline how prosecutors, police and forensic experts should carry out their investigations, the professor said.

“(The protocols) really emphasize both the use of a gender perspective – which means that they need to be cognizant of the ways in which gender shapes violence, how gender inequality might have affected the life of the woman that was murdered and her relationship to the alleged perpetrator, the context of violence in Mexico and her community specifically – and also the principle of due diligence under international law,” she said.

Outrage in both countries

Tacoronte’s killing triggered student protests against gender-based violence in Morelos on Tuesday.

In Cuernavaca, Mexico, her classmates lit candles and left flowers at a memorial set up on Monday at UAEM’s Institute of Educational Sciences, where the young woman was doing her exchange program.

Pamela Martínez, a classmate at the Institute of Educational Sciences, said the community is going through a difficult time. “It is a time for solidarity and respect. We send our deepest respect to her family, her friends and her classmates,” Martínez told Reuters.

Frida, Tacoronte’s aerial dance teacher, remembered the young woman’s personality and the way she interacted with others: “I had the honor of teaching her aerial dance, and it was wonderful because everything she did was impeccable. She always had the best attitude, the best energy. She was very smiley and willing to do anything.”

In Spain, the University of Granada expressed its “strongest revulsion and absolute condemnation” for the murder of its student and conveyed condolences and solidarity with her family, friends and colleagues.

The institution also held a minute of silence on Monday in memory of Tacoronte and reiterated its call to eradicate all forms of violence against women.

The victim’s sister, Lara Tacoronte, expressed outrage in an Instagram video, saying: “I don’t understand people or the society we live in. This happens every day, especially to women, and it’s not fair. It is the most violent and cruelest way to die.”

What happens next?

Morelos Attorney General Fernando Blumenkron Escobar met with officials of the Spanish Consulate in Mexico on Monday “to guarantee justice” for Tacoronte and her friends and family.

The governor of Morelos also met with the Spanish consul, Marcos Rodríguez Cantero, to offer more information about the case.

“We are receiving admirable and much-appreciated cooperation from the state authorities, and we hope that things will be resolved in the coming moments,” said Rodríguez Cantero.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her Foreign Ministry is in touch with the Spanish Consulate and that the security cabinet is collaborating with the Morelos Attorney General’s Office in the investigation.

CNN has contacted the Morelos Attorney General’s Office for more information.

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Michael Rios contributed to this report.