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Mexico arrests suspected drug cartel spy ring boss
18 Mar 2008 20:59:01 GMT
 Source: Reuters
MEXICO CITY, March 18 (Reuters) - Mexican police on Tuesday arrested a woman on suspicion of overseeing a network of spies that tracked police for a powerful drug cartel in central Mexico, officials said.

Veronica Trevino managed an armed criminal cell known as the Falcons whose job it was to monitor the movements of state and federal police and inform Gulf Cartel traffickers of their whereabouts, police told Reuters.

It was the latest big arrest by President Felipe Calderon's government, which has waged an offensive on drug traffickers by deploying thousands of soldiers to hot spots around Mexico.

Trevino was arrested with Ruben Diaz, thought to be the Falcons' second-in-command, in the small Mexican state of Aguascalientes. They were found with a gun, five cell phones and sophisticated radio equipment, police said.

Trevino also had with her a list of other Falcon members and their expenses, complete with restaurant and bar receipts.

The Falcons work under the armed enforcement wing of the Gulf Cartel, made up of former army officers known as Zetas. They are part of an intricate network of lookouts ranging from taxi drivers to street kids who keep tabs on authorities and rival gangs.

Last week Mexico captured a suspected high-ranking hit man for the brutal Tijuana Cartel, five days after arresting another suspected senior operative in the same gang, also known as the Arellano Felix Organization.

Last year Mexico extradited the suspected leader of the Gulf Cartel, Osiel Cardenas, to face trial in Texas. Other leaders of the group have been taken into custody since then.

Cardenas, a former mechanic who rose up the cartel ranks by killing his superiors, set up the Zetas to fight the Sinaloa gang, which is run by Mexico's most wanted man, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman.

Analysts say a weakened Gulf Cartel could lead to more bloodshed as lower-rung operatives struggle for power and the Sinaloa alliance tries to muscle in on the Gulf's territory.

Nationwide, drug violence killed more than 2,500 people last year. Murders total more than 500 so far this year. (Reporting by Mica Rosenberg; Editing by Catherine Bremer and Xavier Briand)


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U.S. First Lady Laura Bush speaks as Mexico's First Lady Margarita Zavala (L) looks on at a breast cancer awareness event in Mexico City March 14, 2008. REUTERS/Andrew Winning (MEXICO) ...


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Last updated:Tue Mar 18 20:58:51 2008