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Mexico says Zetas drug lord Heriberto Lazcano may be dead
Monday, October 8, 2012
Top Los Zetas drug cartel
leader Heriberto Lazcano has apparently been killed in a shootout in
northern Mexico, the country's navy says.
The navy said it was still awaiting final forensic results, but that the body appeared to be "El Lazca".
Lazcano, alias "The Executioner", is a founder of the
notorious cartel which has been implicated in a string of mass killings
and kidnappings.
His death would be a victory in the fight against cartels, say analysts.
Mexican police believe a recent surge in mass killings is due to a split within the Zetas cartel.
Lazcano is thought to be the leader of one faction, while the other is led by Miguel Angel Trevino.
In the nearly six years of Felipe Calderon's presidency,
almost 50,000 people are believed to have died in violence blamed on
organised crime.
Forensics examination
Two alleged gang members were killed in a gun battle with the
navy on Sunday in the region of Progreso, some 125km (80 miles) west of
the Texan border in Coahuila state.
The navy said there was "strong evidence" one of the bodies was Lazcano.
"Information was obtained after the first forensics tests
were carried out that yielded indications that suggest that one of the
bodies is Heriberto Lazcano," the Associated Press quoted the navy's
statement as saying.
"The Navy Department is co-ordinating efforts with Coahuila
state, and will be awaiting the conclusions of the forensics examination
in the case," the statement said.
Lazcano is suspected of involvement in hundreds of killings,
including that of crusading newspaper editor Francisco Ortiz Franco in
2004.
The US had put up a $5m (£3.1m) reward and Mexico another $2.3m for information leading to Lazcano's capture.
On Monday the navy said it had arrested suspected regional
Zetas leader, Salvador Alfonso Martinez Escobedo, who the navy says was
behind the 2010 murder of 72 migrants in northern Tamaulipas state.
Officials say Escobedo works for Miguel Angel Trevino.
Police also recently arrested Ivan Velazquez Caballero, known as El Taliban, a top Zetas commander.
Infamous for mass killings and use of extreme violence, the Zetas control whole swathes of north-eastern Mexico.
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