Leyva was taken into custody at a local restaurant in San Miguel Allende.
By H. Nelson Goodson
October 2, 2014
San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico - On Wednesday, Héctor Beltrán Leyva, 49, the leader of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel was arrested while eating a local seafood restaurant in the city of San Miguel de Allende, Tomas Zerón de Lucio, director of the Criminal Investigation Agency with the Mexican federal Attorney General's Office (PGRF) reported. The PGRF and the Secretary of Military Defense had coordinated the capture of Leyva after an 11-month investigation to his whereabouts.
Leyva had been hiding and working as an art and furniture wealthy dealer in the state of Querétaro. He took control of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel after his brother Marcos Arturo Beltrán Leyva, 48, was killed on December 26, 2009 during a confrontation with Mexican Marines in Cuernavaca, Morelos.
The Beltrán Leyva brothers were associated with the Sinaloa Cartel, but broke away and then became allies with Los Zetas.
The U.S. State Department offered a $5M reward for information leading to his arrest. Leyva is wanted in the U.S. for trafficking drugs and money laundering. The mexican government had also offered $30M pesos ($2.3M U.S.) for information leading to his arrest. He was wanted since 2004 in Mexico for 39 criminal indictments, including for illicit drug trafficking of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines, money laundering, kidnappings and torturing victims. The Beltrán Leyva Cartel is know for their brutal methods in disposing the bodies of their rivals.
Goyeneche Ortega, Leyva's financial operator for the Beltrán Leyva Cartel was also taken into custody. Both Leyva and Ortega were armed, but they were taken into custody without any incident.
The Secretary of the Navy and Marines provided intelligence and coordinated Leyva's arrest on Wednesday, according to De Lucio.
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