The leader of Mexico’s most feared and violent drug gang has been arrested in a major victory over cocaine cartels.
Special forces soldiers seized Miguel Angel Trevino Morales — known by his nickname Z-40 — at dawn. He is known for the sadistic violence he showed rivals including beheadings and burning them alive in 55-gallon drums. Trevino Morales, 40, was head of the Zetas drug cartel formed by defectors from an elite Mexican police unit.
He was captured outside Nuevo Laredo, a Zetas stronghold in the north of the country near the US border, government spokesman Eduardo Sanchez said. He was wanted for numerous crimes, including the murder of 260 migrants who were dumped in mass graves.
“It’s worth emphasising the cruelty with which he committed these acts,” said Mr Sanchez.
Guns and ammunition were also seized along with £1.6 million in cash. It is the most important arrest since president Enrique Pena Nieto took office seven months ago.
The removal of Trevino Morales is an important success for the government and law enforcement but is also likely to ignite a bloody wave of violence as others fight to succeed him.
The arrest strengthens the hand of the most powerful remaining drug lord in Mexico, Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman, whose Sinaloa cartel competes with the Zetas for control of the lucrative cocaine trade.
The US state department had offered a £3 million reward for Trevino Morales who, according to indictments, co-ordinated the shipment of hundreds of pounds of cocaine and marijuana each week from Mexico into the US.
