Spring Break
Mexico captures another 'most-wanted' trafficker
Associated Press
Issue date: 3/26/09 Section: News
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Soldiers captured one of Mexico's most-wanted smugglers, a man accused of controlling the flow of drugs through the northern city of Monterrey for the powerful Beltran-Leyva cartel, the Mexican army said Wednesday.
The announcement came hours before U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Mexico promising to do more to help Mexico crack down on drug violence that is spilling over into the U.S.
Gen. Luis Arturo Oliver said Hector Huerta was detained Tuesday in a Monterrey suburb, along with four men identified as his bodyguards. Soldiers also seized assault rifles and four grenades.
Huerta was arrested on an outstanding homicide warrant; the other four suspects were being held pending charges.
Huerta is the first most-wanted trafficker to be captured since the government on Monday published a list of top suspects. The list identified him as a top Beltran-Leyva cartel lieutenant, with a $1 million reward offered for information leading to his capture. It was not clear if a reward was paid in this case.
Two men on the list had already been captured by the time it was published.
The mustached, chubby-cheeked Huerta is nicknamed "La Burra," or female donkey. "Burro," or male donkey, is a common slang word for the people, usually poor and desperate, paid by the cartels to transport drugs across borders.
But Huerto is no peon - Mexican authorities say he oversaw the cartel's operations in Monterrey, an industrial hub and Mexico's third-largest city. They say he met with the rival Gulf cartel to divide territory between the gangs, two of Mexico's most powerful criminal organizations.
"We have information that as the representative of the Beltran Leyva cartel he held meetings with members of the Gulf cartel with the aim of agreeing on drug distribution zones, in order to avoid clashes between the rival gangs," said Marisela Morales, the federal deputy attorney general for organized crime.
The announcement came hours before U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Mexico promising to do more to help Mexico crack down on drug violence that is spilling over into the U.S.
Gen. Luis Arturo Oliver said Hector Huerta was detained Tuesday in a Monterrey suburb, along with four men identified as his bodyguards. Soldiers also seized assault rifles and four grenades.
Huerta was arrested on an outstanding homicide warrant; the other four suspects were being held pending charges.
Huerta is the first most-wanted trafficker to be captured since the government on Monday published a list of top suspects. The list identified him as a top Beltran-Leyva cartel lieutenant, with a $1 million reward offered for information leading to his capture. It was not clear if a reward was paid in this case.
Two men on the list had already been captured by the time it was published.
The mustached, chubby-cheeked Huerta is nicknamed "La Burra," or female donkey. "Burro," or male donkey, is a common slang word for the people, usually poor and desperate, paid by the cartels to transport drugs across borders.
But Huerto is no peon - Mexican authorities say he oversaw the cartel's operations in Monterrey, an industrial hub and Mexico's third-largest city. They say he met with the rival Gulf cartel to divide territory between the gangs, two of Mexico's most powerful criminal organizations.
"We have information that as the representative of the Beltran Leyva cartel he held meetings with members of the Gulf cartel with the aim of agreeing on drug distribution zones, in order to avoid clashes between the rival gangs," said Marisela Morales, the federal deputy attorney general for organized crime.
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