Hector Beltran Leyva, Most Wanted Mexican Druglord, Captured

Mexican authorities say they have captured one of their most-wanted drug traffickers, Beltran Lyva cartel leader Hector Beltran Leyva, in San Miguel de Allende. Beltran Leyva has been the leader of the cartel for 5 years, taking over after his brother, Arturo, was killed by Mexican special forces in Cuernavaca in 2009, and his brothers, Carlos and Alfredo, were captured.

Tomas Zeron de Lucio, the director of the Attorney General’s criminal investigation agency, said that Beltran Leyva was apprehended in a seafood restaurant without any violence. Zeron also said that the druglord had been living in the state of Queretaro, posing as a businessman selling art and real estate. U.S. authorities was offering a $5 million reward for information leading to Beltran Leyva’s capture, and Mexico was offering 30 million pesos ($2.2 million).

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said in a post on Twitter that Beltran Leyva’s arrest is the result of a security policy designed to “to achieve the Mexico of peace that we all desire.”

Last February, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, leader of the Sinaloa cartel, was captured. For more information on the Mexican drug cartels, visit Borderbeat