Mexican marines capture alleged drug lord El Grande

[maddezmom]

Source: The Guardian

Mexican marines captured Sergio Villarreal Barragán, an alleged leader of the embattled Beltrán Leyva cartel and one of the country's most-wanted fugitives, in a raid yesterday in the central state of Puebla, the authorities said.

The alleged capo known as El Grande did not put up any resistance when arrested along with two others as they left a residence in Puebla city, according to security spokesman Alejandro Poire. The raid involved 30 navy marines, five vehicles and a helicopter.

"This is a new and resounding blow by the federal government against crime, given the high rank and dangerousness of this person inside one of the country's most extensive criminal organisations which has now been deeply weakened," Poire said in a statement.

Villarreal's capture is the fourth major setback for drug cartels delivered by President Felipe Calderón's government in a year.


Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/13/mexico-drugs-arrest-el-grande

[Bobbieo]

1. Now it is time for americans to do our part. A good start is passing California Prop 19

Make pot legal and break the backbone of the drug cartels.

[E-Z-B]

4. They'll adapt and focus on harder drugs.

[customerserviceguy]

2. Still on the loose - El Vente!

[davidhilton]

3. Let's see if anything at all happens, I quite doubt it.

Most probably, a long and drawn out war n/t.

[Kali]

5. they have learned well from us

I'm thinking all the # 2 al-Qaeda leaders we'have captured/killed

[Uncle Joe]

6. This is the equivalent of pulling up a weed.

I also wonder if a rival cartel is behind this cartel's current problems with law enforcement?

But trouble began when Alfredo Beltran Leyva was arrested in 2008. Then the death of his brother Arturo the following year splintered the cartel, launching a brutal war for control.

The Beltrán Leyva brothers once formed part of the Sinaloa cartel, but broke away after a dispute. An indication of the problems they face is that three of the four main blows dealt to drug gangs in the past year involve the Beltrán Leyva.

Thanks for the thread, maddezmom.

[COLGATE4]

7. Colombia is an example for what's happening in Mexico right

now. Bust some of the cartel leaders and others are waiting in line to take their spot. Really fuck up a cartel and smaller groups emerge to fill the void. It's a cancer that has metastized and you just can't get to all the cancerous cells. In Colombia after sucessfully breaking up the large cartels, small organized bands (some 2,000 by count) have emerged to fill the void they left. The only thing that doesn't change is our appetite for the crap they're sending us, so as long as demand is high...

[Bobbieo]

8. JUust maybe Hillary is right about the comparison between Mexico and Columbia!