Mexico City:
Mexican security forces have captured an alleged leader of the Zetas drug cartel in northeastern Mexico who controlled the smuggling of migrants to the United States, officials said Thursday.
Fernando Martinez Magana, alias "Z16," was captured Wednesday in Monterrey, Tamaulipas state, National Security Commissioner Monte Alejandro Rubido told reporters.
Martinez Magana, 42, was based in Nuevo Laredo, across the border from Laredo, Texas. He had moved to Monterrey after fearing detention, according to Rubido.
Vehicles, guns and drugs were seized during the arrest.
Martinez Magana was a "promoter of violence who had been living in recent weeks" in Tamaulipas, Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong said.
Tamaulipas, the region with the most international trade in Mexico, is experiencing a wave of violence attributed to an armed struggle between the Gulf cartel and Los Zetas.
On Friday, federal forces killed Galindo Mellado, a founding member of Los Zetas who went by the alias "Z9."
Mexico's government decided Tuesday to increase military control over security in Tamaulipas and purge corrupt police to counter a surge in drug cartel violence.
Clashes between cartel gunmen and troops as well as street gunfights among gang members have left more than 80 people dead in the state since April 5.