Drug 'kingpin' arrested in Mexico as government hails capture as major victory over cartels

• Capture comes two weeks after arrest of turf war rival, Edgar Valdez, known as 'La Barbie'

Mexican marines have arrested one of the country's most wanted drugs traffickers.
Sergio Villarreal, dubbed 'El Grande', is suspected of being a leading member of the Beltran Leyva cartel and did not resist capture when dozens of marines using armoured vehicles cornered him at a safe house in the central Mexican city of Puebla.
The raid yesterday afternoon involved 30 Navy marines, five vehicles and a helicopter. Villarreal has appeared on the attorney general's list of Mexico's most wanted and had a bounty of more than $2million on his head.
He is listed as one of the top remaining leaders of the Beltran Leyva cartel following the death of Arturo, who was known as the 'Boss of Bosses', and the arrest of bitter rival 'La Barbie', a former Beltran Leyva hitman a few weeks ago.

Marines arrest alleged drug kingpin Sergio Villarreal Barragan, alias 'El Grande', in Puebla, Mexico.. His capture comes soon after the arrest two weeks ago of bitter rival 'La Barbie', or Edgar Valdez, believed to be one of Mexico's most ruthless drug traffickers

Enlarge  

Edgar Valdez Villarreal, alias 'the Barbie' because of his fair complexion, is presented to the press in Mexico City shortly after his arrest. He faces charges in three U.S. states for allegedly trucking in tons of cocaine and is blamed in Mexico for a brutal turf war for control of the divided Beltran Leyva cartel

Villarreal offered no resistance when he was arrested, along with two suspected accomplices. He faces at least seven investigations for alleged drug trafficking and organised crime.
'The capture of Sergio Villarreal ... is another of the federal government's continuing strikes against a highly dangerous criminal organization which is today badly weakened,' said Alejandro Poire, the government's national security spokesman.

 

Mr Poire said the Beltran Leyvas 'had constituted one of the groups with the largest presence in the country', conducting operations in 32 Mexican states, including the capital.

Shoot-outs, beheadings: The desperate battle for power

The Beltran Leyva cartel was founded by four brothers Marcos Arturo, Carlos, Alfredo and Héctor. Trouble for the organisation began when Alfredo Beltran Leyva was arrested in 2008.
Then the death of his brother Arturo the following year splintered the cartel, launching a brutal war for control of the gang, involving mass executions and beheadings in once-peaceful parts of central Mexico. Carlos Beltran Leyva was arrested a few days after Arturo's death.


One of four men killed several days ago in Acapulco. The sign reads: 'This happened to you because you were working for Hector Beltran Leyva'
The fight for the remains of the cartel pitted Hector Beltran Leyva and Villarreal against a faction led by "La Barbie."
In July the decapitated bodies of four men were hung from a bridge in Cuernavaca, a favourite weekend retreat for the capital's wealthy. Alongside was hung a message threatening allies of "La Barbie" and signed by the gang led by Hector Beltran Leyva. Hector is the last Beltran Leyva brother at large.
The Beltran Leyva brothers once formed a part of the Sinaloa cartel, but broke away following a dispute.
An indication of the problems they face is that three of the four main blows dealt to drug gangs in the past year involve Beltran Leyva leaders or operatives.

Villarreal offered no resistance when he was arrested mid-afternoon, along with two suspected accomplices.
Mr Poire said the Beltran Leyvas 'had constituted one of the groups with the largest presence in the country', conducting operations in 32 Mexican states, including the capital.
The capture will strengthen the position of President Felipe Calderon who has faced growing unease that his campaign against the cartels is having little effect.
More than 28,000 people have died since he launched his crackdown on drug cartels in 2006.
Villarreal's capture is the fourth major blow delivered to drug cartels by the government in the past year.
First came the death of Arturo Beltran Leyva, the top leader of Beltran Leyva cartel, in a raid outside Mexico City on Dec. 16, 2009. Then soldiers killed the Sinaloa cartel's No. 3 capo, Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel, on July 29.

And on Aug. 30 federal police announced the capture of Edgar Valdez Villarreal, alias "La Barbie." The two men are not related.
While the security forces can boast of these recent successes several other drug cartels are firmly rooted around the country and use violence to control their smuggling routes.
Suspected drug hitmen killed 25 people late last week in the U.S.-Mexico border city of Ciudad Juarez in what was the bloodiest day in almost three years for a major manufacturing hub gripped by an escalating drug war.
In the central state of Morelos, police discovered nine bodies in clandestine graves Saturday in the same area where four more were recently found.

The Public Safety Department said in a statement that all 13 victims were believed to have been killed on the orders of 'La Barbie' in his battle for control of the cartel.
On Sunday, the military announced that it filed charges against four troops for the killings last week of a man and his 15-year-old son along the highway linking the northern city of Monterrey to Laredo, Texas.
Authorities have said soldiers opened fire on the family vehicle when it failed to stop at a checkpoint, though relatives who were also in the car say they were shot at after they passed a military convoy.
The mother and wife of the two victims was also wounded in the shooting.
A captain, a corporal and two infantrymen are in custody in military prison and have been charged with homicide, the Defense Department said in a statement.
Mexico's military was already under scrutiny for this year's killings of two brothers, ages five and nine, on a highway in Tamaulipas, a state bordering Nuevo Leon.

Enlarge  

Roadblock: Mexican marines check a vehicle as another stands guard on a street on the outskirts of Puebla where Villareal was arrested along with two others

Enlarge  

Bewildered residents watch the drama unfold yesterday afternoon. Marines stood guard on several streets searching cars and questioning people in the surrounding area following the arrests

Enlarge  

This graphic shows the areas controlled by drug cartels in Mexico. The Beltran Leyva organisation operates along the Pacific coast close to the U.S. border. The fringes of these regions are in a constant state of flux as rivals try to muscle in on each other's territory

The National Human Rights Commission has accused soldiers of shooting the children and altering the scene to try to pin the deaths on drug cartel gunmen.
The army denies the allegations and says the boys were killed in the crossfire of a shootout between soldiers and suspected traffickers.
The scandal renewed demands from activists that civilian authorities, not the army, investigate human rights cases involving the military.
More recently, soldiers killed a U.S. citizen Aug. 22 outside the Pacific coast resort city of Acapulco.
In a statement to police, an army lieutenant claimed that Joseph Proctor, who had lived Mexico for several years, shot first at the military convoy on a highway between Acapulco and Zihuatanejo.
The Defense Department says it is investigating the claim, which Proctor's father, William Proctor, says he found hard to believe.

Enlarge  

More than 28,000 people have died since the Mexican government launched its crackdown on drug cartels in 2006. Forensic police recover bodies from a grave found in Puente de Ixtla a few days ago. The grave was found after the arrest of Mauricio Gonzalez 'El Coyote', one of the men that allegedly worked for 'La Barbie' who was captured by police last month. Forty bodies have been recovered from this grave

Enlarge  

The raid yesterday afternoon involved 30 Navy marines, five vehicles and a helicopter

Navy marines guard a roadblock at the entrance to the residential compound where Villareal was arrested