Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

Mexico captures cousin of most wanted drug lord
11 May 2008 17:17:11 GMT
 Source: Reuters
MEXICO CITY, May 11 (Reuters) - Mexican police on Sunday captured the cousin of the country's most wanted drug lord, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, after a shoot-out in the northwestern city of Culiacan, the blood-stained base of his Sinaloa cartel.

Police said they overpowered six suspected drug traffickers at a house in the Sinaloa state capital who had a huge arsenal of guns, including a grenade launcher and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Federal police said in a statement one of those captured was Alfonso Gutierrez Loera, who said he was a cousin of Guzman, the head of the Sinaloa cartel who escaped from a high-security prison in a laundry van in 2001.

Gutierrez Loera and another man were injured in the exchange of fire, the second bloody confrontation in the past week in Culiacan.

Hitmen from a rival cartel killed a son of Guzman on Thursday night. About 40 people opened fire on Edgar Guzman as he stepped out of his armored pickup truck outside a shopping center.

President Felipe Calderon has deployed 25,000 troops and federal police to fight the well-armed cartels that smuggle cocaine, marijuana and amphetamines to the United States.

Some 1,100 people have died this year as the drug gangs battle each other and security forces.

Calderon, a conservative, said on Friday that Mexicans had to take back their streets from drug peddlers and gunmen. But the past week has been a blow to Calderon's fight, with six senior policeman killed throughout the country in an escalating murder campaign against police forces.

(Reporting by Chris Aspin; Editing by Bill Trott)


AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

NGO latest

•  International HIV/AIDS Alliance presents evidence to House of Lords Committee
International HIV/AIDS Alliance - UK

•  New knowledge sharing and networking portal for Latin America and the Caribbean
International HIV/AIDS Alliance - UK

•  Encouraging civil society engagement in the International Health Partnership
International HIV/AIDS Alliance - UK

•  World Vision preparing for busy hurricane season
WV - USA

•  Climate Measures Can Reduce Displacement
NRC - Norway

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Mexico captures cousin of most wanted drug lord

•  Mexican drug gangs step up police murder war

•  Top Mexican police officer killed, sixth in week

•  Son of Mexico's most wanted drug lord killed-media

•  Mexico's president says "enough" to drug hitmen

MORE >>

AlertNet news is provided by

Related articles

Breaking stories
Mexico captures cousin of most wanted drug lord (1 minute ago)

Mexican drug gangs step up police murder war (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
MEDIAWATCH: Women's Day, a time to grieve, a time to be inspired (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
International HIV/AIDS Alliance presents evidence to House of Lords Committee (1 minute ago)

Blogs
Why are tortillas now tied to oil prices? (1 minute ago)

Maps
MAP: Internally displaced people worldwide 2007 (1 minute ago)


Country information

Facts & figures
Mexico

Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-05-10T023141Z_01_MEX50_RTRIDSP_2_MEXICO-DRUGS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/MEX50.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-05-10T022842Z_01_MEX51_RTRIDSP_2_MEXICO-DRUGS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/MEX51.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-04-26T225346Z_01_DAR04_RTRIDSP_2_MEXICO-DRUGS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/DAR04.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-04-26T225136Z_01_DAR03_RTRIDSP_2_MEXICO-DRUGS_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/DAR03.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2008-04-25T181140Z_01_DAR101_RTRIDSP_2_MEXICO-OIL_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/DAR101.htm

ATTENTION EDITORS - VISUALS COVERAGE OF SCENES OF DEATH AND INJURY The slain bodies of three of seven men found dead with signs of torture are seen at a corn field ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Sun May 11 17:15:35 2008