Mexico’s government replaced the head of the probe into the 2014 disappearance of 43 Ayotzinapa teacher-training students after nearly three years of stalled results and growing complaints from the victims’ families. President Claudia Sheinbaum said Rosendo Gómez Piedra “decided to resign,” while other outlets reported he was removed by Attorney General Alejandro Gertz Manero following two internal complaints accusing him of supporting a Supreme Court candidate’s campaign and of other irregularities. Mauricio Pazarán, a former Mexico City prosecutor who has worked with the investigative unit since May, will lead the case on an interim basis until the Federal Prosecutor’s Office makes a formal appointment. Sheinbaum said Pazarán has already met with relatives of the students and has their “good acceptance.” Gómez Piedra, appointed in October 2022 under the previous administration, had faced mounting criticism from families who cited a lack of progress and alleged corruption. In May he angered relatives by saying investigators were focused on locating “cadavers,” highlighting that, despite 120 arrests, 46 court cases and searches at more than 800 sites, authorities still have not found the students or clarified their fate. Sheinbaum said the new team is analyzing phone records and other data that were previously overlooked and will brief the families again later this month. The shake-up is the second change in leadership of the Ayotzinapa unit since 2022, underscoring the political and investigative challenges of resolving a case widely described by the government itself as a state crime.