The United States applauded Mexico on Tuesday for catching the head of the ultraviolent Zetas drug cartel, Miguel Angel Trevino, saying it put an end to his “ruthless leadership.”
“Trevino Morales, the head of the notoriously violent and vicious Los Zetas cartel, has been a wanted man for years,” the US Drug Enforcement Administration said in a statement. “His ruthless leadership has now come to an end.”
“Trevino Morales is of one of the most significant Mexican cartel leaders to be apprehended in several years and DEA will continue to support the government of Mexico as it forges ahead in disrupting and dismantling drug trafficking organizations,” the statement said.
Trevino, alias “Z-40,” was captured by marines before dawn Monday as he traveled in a pick-up truck along with two associates on a dirt road near the northeastern city of Nuevo Laredo, which lies at the border with Texas.
Authorities seized $2 million in cash from the car along with eight large weapons and 500 cartridges. The other two detainees are believed to be a bodyguard and an operative tasked with finances.
The US embassy said Trevino’s arrest “is yet another advance by the people of Mexico in the dismantling of organized crime.”
But analysts warn that the arrest or killing of drug kingpins could lead to more violence because of internal battles of succession. Rival cartels might also try to seize on the power vacuum to gain territory.
US applauds Mexico for catching Zetas leader
