Mexico arrests 24 suspected drug cartel members
- 11 years ago
(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION)
Mexican authorities have arrested 24 alleged members of the Zetas drug cartel, accused of murdering at least 12 people and kidnapping 16 victims.
On Monday (November 19), the authorities presented the suspects. Among them were women and minors. The suspects, who were captured after various police operations in municipal areas of Monterrey, are accused of working as hitmen and involvement in local kidnapping rings for the brutal cartel.
Those arrested include the suspected leader of this group, 35-year-old Irma Valentina Ramos Espinosa, alias "Red Commander" and the suspected second in command, 36-year-old Heriberto Manrique Rios Gutierrez, alias "Z-210".
The rest of those arrested include a former marine, five active local policemen and five minors.
The Zetas were founded by former soldiers who defected from the Mexican military in 1998 to work as hired killers for drug traffickers. They have since carved out their own smuggling empire, expanded massively across Mexico and diversified into kidnapping, extortion and theft of crude oil.
Mexican authorities have arrested 24 alleged members of the Zetas drug cartel, accused of murdering at least 12 people and kidnapping 16 victims.
On Monday (November 19), the authorities presented the suspects. Among them were women and minors. The suspects, who were captured after various police operations in municipal areas of Monterrey, are accused of working as hitmen and involvement in local kidnapping rings for the brutal cartel.
Those arrested include the suspected leader of this group, 35-year-old Irma Valentina Ramos Espinosa, alias "Red Commander" and the suspected second in command, 36-year-old Heriberto Manrique Rios Gutierrez, alias "Z-210".
The rest of those arrested include a former marine, five active local policemen and five minors.
The Zetas were founded by former soldiers who defected from the Mexican military in 1998 to work as hired killers for drug traffickers. They have since carved out their own smuggling empire, expanded massively across Mexico and diversified into kidnapping, extortion and theft of crude oil.