Spanish exchange student killed in Morelos

A 21-year-old Spanish university student was murdered in the state of Morelos, Mexico, on Saturday in a crime that is being investigated as a femicide.

Claudia Tacoronte Aguilera, a University of Granada (UGR) student who was studying at the Autonomous University of the State of Morelos (UAEM) on an exchange program, was stabbed at the Casa de la Cultura cultural center in Cuautla, a city around 40 kilometers southeast of Cuernavaca.

The cultural center was hosting an event focused on medicinal plants when the murder was perpetrated. Casa de la Cultura de Cuautla said in a statement that Tacoronte was the victim of an “alleged robbery with a bladed weapon.”

Morelos Attorney General Fernando Blumenkron told reporters on Sunday that the crime was being investigated as a femicide as authorities seek to determine whether the victim’s gender was a motivating factor. As of Monday morning, no one had been arrested in connection with the murder. Blumenkron said on Sunday that the aggressor hadn’t been identified.

He said that Mexican authorities immediately notified the Spanish Consulate in Mexico of the death of Tacoronte, who was studying early childhood education. She began her exchange program at the UAEM campus in Cuautla last month.

UAEM and UGR condemn the murder

In a statement, the UAEM expressed its “profound anger” over the “femicide” of Tacoronte, a native of the Spanish island of Gran Canaria.

“The Autonomous University of the State of Morelos expresses its most sincere condolences to her family, her friends, her classmates, the University of Granada, … the Spanish government and Spanish society,” the UAEM said.

“We stand in deep solidarity with all of them in the face of this irreparable loss and we share the grief that overwhelms them today,” the university said.

The UAEM called on the Morelos Attorney General’s Office to carry out an “immediate” and “exhaustive” investigation “with a strict gender perspective” in order to “guarantee justice and avoid impunity.”

In its own statement, the UGR expressed its “absolute” condemnation of the murder of Tacoronte.

“The university community wishes to convey its deepest condolences, solidarity and affection to Claudia’s family, friends and classmates at these times of such profound pain,” the university said.

The Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities also condemned the murder of Tacoronte, saying she was a “victim of an intolerable act of violence that has shocked all Spanish universities.” At a press conference in Andorra on Monday, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation José Manuel Albares said that the Spanish government will seek to shed light on what happened so that “those responsible are brought to justice.”

The rector’s office of the University of Granada later announced the cancellation of the exchange program with UAEM, impacting three students who were set to study in Morelos next semester.

Tacoronte is the 4th UAEM student to be murdered this year

Tacoronte is the fourth UAEM student to be murdered this year. All of the other victims were women.

An average of around 10 women are murdered daily in Mexico. Around one-quarter of those murders are prosecuted as femicides, according to the EFE news agency, which cited statistics from Mexican authorities and non-governmental organizations.

In the first seven months of 2026, a total of 380 femicides were committed in Mexico, according to official statistics.

More than 40% of the cases occurred in just five federal entities: Sinaloa, Morelos, Chiapas, Mexico City and Tamaulipas.

With reports from EFE, El País, Cadena Ser, El Economista, El Financiero and DW