Mexican police on Sunday captured a top leader and founder of the feared Zetas drug cartel wanted in connection with the murder of a US federal agent, authorities said.
However, previous high-profile arrests have done little to stem the violent crime wave sweeping the country, and on Monday, a day after the capture, 13 gunmen were killed in a firefight with Mexican troops in the volatile northeast.
Police arrested Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, also known as “El Mamito,” on Sunday in central Mexico as he was on his way to his mother’s house in his home state of Campeche in the south, the Mexican Security Ministry said.
Rejon Aguilar, the feared cartel’s third-ranking leader, is wanted in connection with a Feb. 14 attack that killed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata and seriously wounded his partner.
The US government has offered a US$5 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of those responsible for the killing.
The capture “is a high-level blow to the structure of the criminal group,” Mexican national security spokesman Alejandro Poire said on Monday.
With the latest arrest, the last remaining original Zetas founder at large is group leader Heriberto Lazcano, Poire said.
According to his criminal file, “El Mamito” joined the Mexican army in 1993 and three years later was recruited into an elite team organized to fight Zapatista guerrillas in the south.
In 1999, Rejon Aguilar and 14 other military deserters formed the Zetas, a group hired to work as hitmen for the powerful Gulf cartel. The Zetas later split from their employers, sparking a bloody turf war.
The Zetas were among the first Mexican crime syndicates to use heavy weaponry and full-scale military tactics, reportedly amassing an arsenal that includes grenade launchers and even ground-to-air missiles.
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