Mexico Nabs Suspected Zetas Cartel Figure Near Texas Border
A suspected leader of the violent Zetas drug cartel who was on Mexico's list of 122 priority targets for arrest was captured early Monday in a city on the Texas border, authorities said.
Ramiro Perez Moreno, 34, was arrested without any shots being fired in the city of Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas, the Mexican navy said in a statement.
It alleged that he was a top operative of a criminal group operating in the border states of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas.
The statement did not mention the Zetas by name, but said he apparently was in line to take over the criminal gang after the March 3 arrest of Omar Trevino Morales, who was the alleged leader of the Zetas.
However not much was known about Perez Moreno in comparison with higher-profile cartel figures, and there has been significant fighting over territory.
The navy said Perez Moreno trafficked drugs into the United States and arms back into Mexico; waged wars on other gangs and launched attacks on authorities; and coordinated kidnapping, extortion and people-smuggling rackets.
Weapons and drugs were seized during the raid in which he was captured, and four other suspects were arrested.
The Zetas carved a path of brutal bloodshed along Mexico's northern border with the U.S. in recent years.
Source: Associated Press
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