Mexican authorities arrest founding leader of Los Zetas drug cartel

[News_Editor]

Mexican authorities arrest founding leader of Los Zetas drug cartel

2011-07-05 00:15:48 GMT+7 (ICT)

MEXICO CITY (BNO NEWS) -- Mexico's Public Security Secretariat (SSP) on Monday announced the arrest of Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, one of the founding leaders of "Los Zetas" drug cartel and one of the most wanted men in the country.

Rejon Aguilar, also known as "El Mamito," was the third in command in the criminal organization and is also wanted by United States authorities. He was arrested on Sunday in Atizapan de Zaragoza municipality, Mexico State.

The capture of Rejon Aguilar was the part of an extensive investigation by the Federal Police on the Zetas organization. The operation was undertaken without firing a single bullet.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) offered a $5 million reward for the capture of Rejon Aguilar who is also wanted for ordering the attacks against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents earlier this year.

On February 15, a group of Zetas gunmen attacked two ICE agents on a highway, located in San Luis Potosi State. The two agents were ambushed while traveling in their U.S. government-issued vehicle towards Mexico City.

Jaime Zapata, 32, ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent, was killed during the attack, while his partner, Victor Avila, suffered gunshot wounds. Julian Zapata Espinosa, also known as "El Piolin," was later arrested and presented as the alleged shooter.

According to the SSP, Rejon Aguilar enlisted to the Mexican Army in April 1993 in his native state of Campeche, southern Mexico. He served as part of the Army's air special forces (Grupo Aeromovil de Fuerzas Especiales or GAFE) before deserting in February 1999.

That same year, Arturo Guzman Decena, aka "El Z-1," invited him to join the ranks of the Group of the 14th (Grupo de los 14) which later founded the "Los Zetas" armed wing at the service of the then powerful Gulf Cartel (Cartel del Golfo).

From the fourteen founders of the Zetas cartel only two remain at large; Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, aka "El Lazca" and current leader of the criminal organization, and Mateo Diaz Lopez, also known as "Z-6."

The other founding members are either dead or imprisoned, including Guzman Decena who was killed in 2002. Rejon Aguilar was the third most powerful member of the organization, just below Lazcano and Diaz Lopez.

In the beginning, Rejon Aguilar was tasked with protecting former drug kingpin Osiel Cardenas Guillen until his capture in 2003. Then, he participated in facilitating the prison break of several Gulf Cartel members.

In addition, he was involved in the violent gunfights with the rival Pacific drug cartel (Cartel del Pacifico) between 2204 and 2005 in Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas states, northern Mexico.

In 2004, he directed the attempted escape of Cardenas Guillen from the Altiplano high security prison. In 2007, he was under the leadership of Miguel Angel Treviño Morales (aka Z-40) until 2009.

In January 2010, the Gulf cartel and the Zetas parted ways and Rejon Aguilar was assigned as coordinator of the Zetas operations in the central and northern regions of the country.

Since then, he has been involved in the deadly and violent territory disputes between the two former allied organizations. He was arrested along Pedro Ortega Herrera, 32, a Mexico City police officer.

The DEA considers the Zetas cartel responsible for much of the escalation of violence along its Southwest Border. It is known for its use of extreme violence on law enforcement officials, innocent citizens, informants, and rival drug gangs.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-07-05