Mexico nabs drug kingpin
By Adam Klawonn · March 19, 2009 · Print This Article
MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities captured a key player in one of the country’s top drug cartels today in a posh neighborhood in the nation’s capital.
According to a report by the Associated Press, Vicente Zambada was nabbed without bloodshed. Mexican police and federal troops were watching the neighborhood in response to citizen complaints of armed men in cars, according to the report.
TZR Editor Adam Klawonn
When they confronted Zambada and his bodyguards on the street, the story quotes a government official as saying they caught them by surprise. You can read more about it here.
Zambada reportedly is the son of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who is considered a top leader in the Sinaloa drug cartel and one of Mexico’s most-wanted kingpins, according to the report.
It’s great news and a huge victory for drug-enforcement types, but I have some serious doubts about this peaceful, surprise arrest. For the past several months, stories have shot around the Web about how Mexican police officers are frequently on the cartel payroll and how ex-military types are recruited to join cartel hit squads. You can even view one of their recruitment posters here. [It's in Spanish, folks, but take my word for it.]
American and Mexican authorities have been stepping up their game to catch more of these guys. Still, I don’t think anyone’s this lucky. I think someone gave Zambada up to take some heat off of their own situation. Could it be El Mayo himself, Zambada’s own father?
Either way, the impact could be huge for the drugs that come into – and through – Arizona.
