TIJUANA
–
A special federal task force captured several men believed to be high-ranking members of the Arellano Félix cartel as the men gambled early yesterday at Caliente Casino, Mexican military officials said.
Gen. Alfonso Duarte Mujica, local commander of military, said yesterday that one of those captured was Pedro Ignacio Zazueta, known as “El Pit,” who authorities suspect is a leader of the cartel.
Zazueta is a lieutenant to Fernando Sánchez Arellano, known as “El Ingeniero” (The Engineer), who has run the cartel since the death or capture of the Arellano Félix brothers, Duarte Mujica said.
Task force members came from the federal police and federal attorney general's office and the military. As part of the investigation, officials seized a car, high-caliber weapons and uniforms worn by municipal police and by agents of the federal attorney general's office.
No additional information was immediately available about the others arrested, only that they are believed to have provided security for Zazueta.
After their arrests in the casino owned by former Tijuana mayor Jorge Hank Rhon, two of the men were flown to Mexico City for questioning, the military commander said.
A witness to the arrests said he heard gunshots after the hooded federal agents came into the casino. There were no reports of injuries or deaths.
Omar Millán González is a contributor to The Union-Tribune's Spanish-language newspaper, Enlace.
