Founding member of drug cartel Los Zetas arrested in Mexico
By DPA, IANSTuesday, January 18, 2011
MEXICO CITY - Mexican police arrested Flavio Mendez Santiago, a founding member of the criminal gang Los Zetas, authorities said Tuesday.
Mendez Santiago, also known as “El Amarillo”, 35, was one of the most-wanted criminals in Mexico, and a reward of $1.25 million had been offered for information leading to his capture. He was arrested Monday in Villa Etla, in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, alongside one of his bodyguards.
He was in charge of coordinating the traffic in drugs and migrants in southern Mexico, said Ramon Eduardo Pequeno, head of the federal police’s anti-narcotics division.
Los Zetas were founded in the late 1990s by deserters of the elite squads of the armies of Mexico and Guatemala, to become the armed wing of the Gulf Cartel.
A year ago, the two groups split up violently, and now Los Zetas, led by Heriberto Lazcano, are active as an independent organization. They engage in traffic of drugs and migrants, in kidnappings, extortion and fuel robberies, among other crimes.
