Mexican soldiers have captured Jose Gerardo Alvarez Vazquez, a reputed leader of the Arturo Beltran Leyva drug cartel on whom the United States had placed a $2 million bounty, after a gun battle which killed three and wounded two in a wealthy suburb outside of Mexico City as reported by Ivan Moreno for The Associated Press:
Jose Gerardo Alvarez Vazquez — known as "El Indio" or "El Chayan" — is suspected of being responsible for a spike in violence in states near the capital as part of a struggle for control of the Beltran Leyva drug cartel, the military and the federal Attorney General's Office said. * * * Mexican Gen. Edgar Luis Villegas Melendez said Alvarez Vazquez had partnered with Edgar Valdez Villarreal, a U.S.-born enforcer known as "La Barbie," in his quest for control over the Beltran Leyva cartel. Authorities say a battle for the cartel began after Mexican marines killed drug kingpin Arturo Beltran Leyva during a December shootout at an upscale apartment complex in Cuernavaca, south of Mexico City. The struggle for power has triggered dozens of killings in Morelos state, where Cuernavaca is located, and in neighbouring Guerrero, authorities say.
Meanwhile, on the north side of the border, in Dallas, TX four leaders from a drug trafficking cell affiliated with La Familia have "pleaded guilty as part of a continuing law enforcement initiative known as Project Coronado, in which nearly 100 La Familia members tied to a drug smuggling and distribution operation in Dallas were arrested" as reported by Jerry Seper for The Washington Times: "The DEA-led task force penetrated the Dallas organization, according to court records, documenting the receipt and distribution of methamphetamine and cocaine from associates in La Familia's home territory of Michoacan in southwestern Mexico."
And in Riverton, UT police have arrested six Mexican nationals who allegedly are tied to Los Zetas cartel after a raid on a home as reported by Nicole Gonzales for KSL TV:
It's a fairly new subdivision, a nice neighborhood. Officer say that's why the dealers chose to operate there. Police found just over 4 pounds of methamphetamine, 4 pounds of heroin and a pound of cocaine stashed and hidden in the walls . . . . They say the operation moved about 30 pounds of heroin per week. The residence was only used to stash the drugs. Then they used a network of people to deliver the drugs in a system known as "Dial-A-Doper." Unified Police Chief Jim Winder described the system. "They're using very inexpensive vehicles, people that have been threatened to drive those vehicles. They're given a cell phone and a limited amount of narcotics and some cash. People call up these cell phone numbers, meet these dealers they deliver the -- almost like a pizza delivery." Officers also found guns, cash and seized three cars. The dealers actually altered the frame of one car to hide the drugs in certain compartments.
