MEXICO: Mexican authorities arrest Zeta leader suspected in last year's killing of U.S. customs agent

Record ID: 303570

  • Title: MEXICO: Mexican authorities arrest Zeta leader suspected in last year's killing of U.S. customs agent
  • Date: 5th July 2011
  • Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (JULY 4, 2011) (REUTERS) POLICE VEHICLES ARRIVING JESUS "EL MAMITO" REJON GETTING DOWN FROM VEHICLE SEIZED WEAPONS ARRESTED MEN BEING PRESENTED TO MEDIA WITH SEIZED WEAPONS HEAD OF THE NARCOTICS DIVISION OF THE FEDERAL POLICE, RAMON PEQUENO, WALKING INTO NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HEAD OF THE NARCOTICS DIVISION OF THE FEDERAL POLICE, RAMON PEQUENO, SAYING: "Rejon Aguilar, was among the most wanted criminals by the federal government, also the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) offered a reward of five million dollars." MORE OF ARRESTED WITH SEIZED WEAPONS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) HEAD OF THE NARCOTICS DIVISION OF THE FEDERAL POLICE, RAMON PEQUENO, SAYING: "Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, alias "El Mamito" is allegedly responsible and is the intellectual author of deaths in the northeast of the country. According to intelligence reports, Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar is investigated for crimes against public health and is linked with the attack against two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last February 14 this year in Santa Maria, San Luis Potosi, where agent Jaime Zapata lost his life." VARIOUS OF ARRESTED MEN / WEAPONS / BEING LED AWAY
  • Embargoed: 20th July 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico, Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Reuters ID: LVA8HBLTMC4KLT2JMOL5NNXSYW0K
  • Story Text: Mexican police arrested a top lieutenant of the Zetas drug cartel who was linked to the murder of a U.S. immigration agent in February, the country's security ministry said on Monday (July 4).
    Police captured Jesus "El Mamito" Rejon in a Mexico City suburb on Sunday "without firing a shot," the ministry said.
    Rejon is a founding member and currently third in command of the Zetas, which was started by former Mexican special forces soldiers and is considered the country's most brutal cartel.
    The United States had offered a $5 million dollar reward for Rejon, who the Mexican security ministry said played a role in the shooting of two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents earlier this year.
    The agents were driving in an armored vehicle on a highway from San Luis Potosi to Mexico City in February when they were ambushed in broad daylight by suspected drug gang members.
    One ICE agent, Jaime Zapata, was killed and another agent, Victor Avila, was wounded in the leg.
    "Rejon Aguilar, was among the most wanted criminals by the federal government, also the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) offered a reward of five million dollars," the Head of the Narcotics Division of the Federal Police, Ramon Pequeno, told a news conference.
    "Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, alias "El Mamito" is allegedly responsible and is the intellectual author of deaths in the northeast of the country. According to intelligence reports, Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar is investigated for crimes against public health and is linked with the attack against two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents last February 14 this year in Santa Maria, San Luis Potosi, where agent Jaime Zapata lost his life," added Pequeno.
    Turf wars between the Zetas and other cartels have transformed parts of Mexico into lawless killing grounds and scaring away some foreign investors.
    Rejon was traveling with a Mexico City police officer who was brokering the drug lord's passage through the region, the ministry said. The police officer was also arrested.
    Around 40,000 people have died in Mexico's drug wars since President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006. Calderon has deployed the military to the streets to attack powerful cartels.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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