Arturo Beltran Leyva

[Hollander]

'Boss of bosses' killed in Mexico
ARTURO BELTRAN LEYVA

One of Mexico's most-wanted drug traffickers
Had $2.3m bounty on his head
One of five brothers

One of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords has been killed in a shoot-out with state security forces, officials say.

Arturo Beltran Leyva and four alleged members of his cartel died in a raid by troops on a flat in Cuernavaca, just south of Mexico City.

The Beltran Leyva cartel, based on the Pacific coast, is one of Mexico's most powerful and violent drug gangs.

Meanwhile, the severed heads of six policemen were found near a church in the north of the country, police said.

They said the beheadings in Durango state were a revenge attack by the Gulf cartel for the killing of 10 gang members last week.

The severed heads, left in plastic bags outside the church before dawn, were discovered by garbage collectors, the state attorney general's office said.

'Boss of bosses'

Arturo Beltran Leyva, known as the "boss of bosses", was one of five brothers who split from the Sinaloa cartel and aligned themselves with Los Zetas, a group of former soldiers hired by the Gulf Cartel as hit men.

The split is believed to have fuelled much of the bloodshed across Mexico, where more than 14,000 people have died in drugs-related violence since 2006.

The Mexican government listed Beltran Leyva as one its 24 most-wanted drug traffickers and had offered a $2.3m (£1.4m) reward for his capture.

A Navy statement described the gun battle in which Beltran Leyva was killed as "intense". It involved at least 200 members of Mexico's armed forces.

Reports said three soldiers were injured by grenade fragments during the operation in Cuernavaca, a city of 350,000 that is a popular weekend retreat spot.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene described hearing at least 10 explosions.

During the gunbattle, sailors went door to door to evacuate residents of the upmarket residential complex, AP reported.

Drug gangs 'weakening'

Mexico's authorities are battling a wave of violence by drug gangs fighting over smuggling routes to the US.

The Obama administration delivered five helicopters to Mexico on Wednesday to help it in its fight.

Washington says the rising death toll is a sign the drug gangs are weakening under President Calderon's military crackdown, which has seen some 49,000 extra troops deploy across Mexico.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/8417531.stm

Published: 2009/12/17 10:00:49 GMT

[Hollander]

Colombia says Mexico capo death weakens cartel ties
Fri Dec 18, 2009 6:41pm GMT

BOGOTA (Reuters) - The death of Mexican drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva will help disrupt trafficking ties between Mexican cocaine gangs and their Colombian counterparts, the Andean country's police chief said on Friday.
Beltran Leyva, a cartel chief known as "The Boss of Bosses" and sought by Mexico and the United States, was killed on Wednesday night in a gunfight with elite Navy troops who had raided his apartment complex in the Mexican city of Cuernavaca.

"It is satisfying to know that this strike will really weaken the ties between the Mexican cartels and Colombian organizations," national police commander Gen. Oscar Naranjo told reporters.

Naranjo said the Colombia trafficker closest to Beltran was Ever Villafane Martinez, captured by Mexican police and extradited to the United States in April this year. He was considered by authorities the Mexican's key cocaine supplier.

The Beltran Leyva cartel is one of a half dozen whose turf wars have killed more than 16,000 people since President Felipe Calderon came to power in 2006 and sent the army to tackle drug gangs.

Colombia, the world's top cocaine producer, has received more than $6 billion in U.S. aid since 2000 in its fight against leftist guerrillas and drug lords. Violence from the conflict has eased but hundreds of tonnes of cocaine still flow each year from Colombia to markets in the United States and Europe.

Colombia's Cali, Medellin and Norte del Valle drug cartels once led the cocaine trade until they were battered by U.S.-backed counter-narcotics operations. Authorities say Mexican gangs have now taken over the primary role of getting the Colombian drugs into the lucrative U.S. market.

(Reporting by Luis Jaime Acosta; writing by Patrick Markey in Bogota, editing by Jackie Frank)

[Hollander]

Outrage at Mexico reprisal deaths
Mexico's leaders have expressed outrage at the apparent reprisal killing of the family of an elite Mexican solider who died in a high-profile drugs raid.

Four members of marine Melquisedet Angulo Cordova's family were killed at their home in the south-eastern state of Tabasco within hours of his funeral.

He died during an operation targeting one of Mexico's biggest drugs lords.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon called the murders "a cowardly and contemptible act of violence".

"These outrageous actions show the lack of scruples of organised crime in mowing down innocent lives," he said of the attack during which the marine's mother, brother, sister and aunt were killed.

Senate spokesman Sebastian Calderon described the situation as disastrous but vowed that the government would continue its fight against the drugs barons.

"We mustn't let our guard down, the government must continue and complete its duty," he said.

Crackdown

Gunmen targeted the family just a few hours after they had buried his body.

A local police official described how the gunmen had broken down the door of the family home, in Quintin Arauz, with a sledgehammer.


ARTURO BELTRAN LEYVA

One of Mexico's most-wanted drug traffickers
Had $2.3m bounty on his head
One of five brothers

"They [...] sprayed them with bullets in the living room and bedrooms," deputy police commander Saturnino Dominguez said.

As well as the four victims, another relative was seriously injured during the attack.

Reporter Franc Contreras, in Mexico City, said the multiple murders were being considered a revenge killing in Mexico, raising fears that the government is not able to protect those who battle the cartels on behalf of the state.

Cordova was the only solider killed during the raid on the property of Arturo Beltran Leyva, who was the third most-wanted man in Mexico.

Beltran Leyva and four alleged members of his cartel died during a shoot-out involving some 200 officers at a flat in Cuernavaca, just south of Mexico City, last Thursday.

Based on the Pacific coast, his cartel was one of Mexico's most powerful and violent drug gangs.

Known as the "boss of bosses", Arturo Beltran Leyva was one of five brothers who split from the Sinaloa cartel and aligned themselves with Los Zetas, a group of former soldiers hired by the Gulf Cartel as hit men.

The split is believed to have fuelled much of the bloodshed across Mexico, where more than 14,000 people have died in drugs-related violence since 2006.

Mexico's authorities are battling a wave of violence by drug gangs fighting over smuggling routes to the US.

Washington says the rising death toll is a sign the drug gangs are weakening under President Calderon's military crackdown, which has seen some 49,000 extra troops deploy across Mexico.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/8428151.stm

Published: 2009/12/23 11:53:50 GMT

[Hollander]

Suspected Mexican druglord caught
A suspected senior member of one of Mexico's major drugs cartels has been arrested, officials say.

Carlos Beltran Leyva was arrested in Culiacan, capital of the northern state of Sinaloa, the public safety office said in a statement.

The arrest was made on Wednesday but only revealed late on Saturday.

Carlos Beltran Leyva, of the Beltran Leyva drugs cartel, is the brother of Arturo Beltran Leyva who was killed two weeks ago in a shoot-out with troops.

Arturo Beltran Leyva was known as "the boss of bosses" among Mexican drugs cartels.

Carlos Beltran Leyva, 40, was carrying a false driver's licence when he was arrested, the official statement said.

He later acknowledged he was Arturo Beltran Leyva's brother, it added.

He was also found to have two guns and ammunition, the statement said.

A source from the security ministry told Reuters that he had since been transported to Mexico City.

The Beltran Leyva Organisation (BLO) was formed after a split in 2008 from the notorious and powerful Sinaloa cartel headed by Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman.

The two gangs operate along Mexico's Pacific coast and analysts say they are involved in a bloody feud for control of lucrative smuggling routes into the US.

'Key member'

Mexican officials have previously described Carlos Beltran Leyva as a key member of the cartel, but it is unclear if he took over as chief after his brother died.

Correspondents say a third brother, Alfredo Beltran Leyva, was arrested in January 2008 and a fourth, Mario, is still at large and sought by police.

Arturo Beltran Leyva was one of Mexico's most wanted men with a $2.3m reward on his head.

He died with four alleged members of his cartel in a raid by troops on a flat in Cuernavaca, just south of Mexico City.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/8438217.stm

Published: 2010/01/03 04:42:41 GMT

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