Mexican Army arrests leader of Sinaloa drug cartel

Mexican Army arrests leader of Sinaloa drug cartel

2011-05-14 05:53:55 GMT+7 (ICT)

MEXICO CITY (BNO NEWS) -- Mexico's National Defense Secretary (Sedena) on Friday announced that the Mexican Army arrested the leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel in Jalisco state.

Martin Beltran Coronel, also known as "El Aguila," was detained on Thursday in a residential neighborhood in Zapopan, Jalisco. The Mexican Army conducted a special operation after investigators located the drug kingpin's residence.

In addition, soldiers detained four other important figures within the "Coronel Villareal" organization, one of the three branches in which is currently divided the Sinaloa cartel. The drug trafficking organization was severed after the killing of Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel Villarreal.

Sedena also informed that during the operation, soldiers seized nine weapons, six vehicles, jewelry, communication devices and over 4.7 million Mexican pesos ($400,000) in cash.

At the moment of his arrest, Beltran was accompanied by his closest allies: Norma Aviles, Rita Aviles and Edgar Filemon. The three were in charge of managing security and drug trafficking operations.

On January 20, a military operation was conducted in a residence in Guadalajara, property of Beltran Coronel. Soldiers seized four firearms, 142,000 Mexican pesos ($12,100) and many American dollar bills totaling $41,000.

In July 2010, Nacho Coronel was killed during a military operation conducted Colinas de San Javier neighborhood in Guadalajara, the second biggest city in Mexico. He was one of the most wanted drug cartel leaders nationwide.

Coronel Villarreal was a close associate of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the Sinaloa cartel leader. The organization has a large-scale production and trafficking of crystal methamphetamine and cocaine that reaches markets throughout Mexico, the U.S., and Europe.

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