GREGORY BULL ASSOCIATED PRESS
Soldiers stand guard around the arms collected in an
operation against the Gulf Cartel on Friday. The weapons
cache included 288 assault rifles, 500,000 rounds of
ammunition and other assorted arms.
Posted on 11/09/2008 5:51:26 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
MEXICO CITY — In a seeming one-two punch against one of Mexico's fiercest criminal syndicates, authorities announced Friday that they had seized one of the largest weapons caches in modern Mexican history and arrested a senior gang leader in a city bordering South Texas.
The blows were struck in Reynosa, on the Rio Grande near McAllen, against the Zetas, gunmen linked to the Gulf Cartel, which operates throughout eastern and central Mexico.
Army troops seized 400 pistols and rifles, 500,000 bullets, 165 grenades, several grenade launchers, six heavy machine guns and an anti-tank rocket launcher.
Assistant Attorney General Marisela Morales said the arsenal "is the largest in the history of Mexico."
One of the largest previous seizures involved a cache of 280 weapons found in 1984, according to the Associated Press.
Mexican officials have long complained that most of the weapons used by the criminal gangs are smuggled in from Texas and other border states.
Federal police also captured Jaime Gonzalez, nicknamed "The Hummer," described as a founder of the Zetas, which were originally composed of former army commandos.
Operating out of Reynosa, Gonzalez, 37, directed Zeta operations in Mexico City and seven Mexican states, police said. He is a close collaborator to Zeta leaders Heriberto Lazcano and Miguel Treviño, authorities said. Police said Gonzalez reported to Lazcano.
Gonzalez joined the Mexican army in 1991 and deserted in 1999 to form the Zetas, which have acted as the Gulf Cartel's enforcers. He began his criminal career as the bodyguard for reputed cartel boss Osiel Cardenas, nicknamed "The Friend Killer," who is jailed in Houston awaiting federal trial on drug trafficking charges.
Since Cardenas' extradition last year, the Zetas have been operating on their own, with many of their gunmen drawn from civilian ranks.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
Zeta ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
Nice haul. Expect these to be back on the streets by next week.
Given the number of civil wars in their history, this seems unlikely.
WOW! That layout in the pic you posted would look real nice in my basement.
Didn't take the Zetas long to score a little payback, did it? I predict things will get rougher, very shortly.
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