Mexican troops detain son of alleged cartel leader
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican soldiers and marines captured the son of the alleged leader of a drug cartel during a raid Thursday near the western city of Guadalajara.
Monte Alejandro Rubido Garcia, executive secretary of the National Public Safety System, said the military nabbed 23-year-old Ruben Oseguera and four other men in Zapopan, a city in the Guadalajara metropolitan area.
His father, Nemesio Oseguera, allegedly leads the Jalisco New Generation cartel, which is believed to be allied with the Sinaloa cartel, Mexico's most powerful drug gang led by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
The suspects possessed 14 weapons prohibited for civilian use, including a grenade, and they had "high quantities of money in pesos and dollars," Rubido said.
He said Ruben Oseguera is accused of trafficking drugs and ordering murders. He was also responsible for managing the finances of the cartel, the official said.
"Ruben Oseguera is presumably the one in charge of buying, selling and trafficking the drugs coming from South America," Rubido said at a news conference.
The Jalisco state prosecutor said buses were set on fire in parts of Zapopan on Thursday, spreading fear among residents in the area around Guadalajara, which is Mexico's second biggest city. The U.S. Consulate in the city warned U.S. citizens to stay inside because of what seemed to be retaliatory attacks by cartel members following the raid.
The Jalisco cartel is believed to be locked in a turf battle with the Knights Templar cartel in neighboring Michoacan state. It has been accused of supporting some of the civilian vigilante groups that have been battling the Knights Templar.
In November, Jalisco authorities linked the Jalisco New Generation cartel to the discovery of dozens of bodies in mass graves in the community of La Barca near Lake Chapala, which is popular among Canadian and U.S. expatriates and tourists. Officials said police officers arrested for alleged gang ties led investigators to the graves and said the remains could be victims of people they had turned over to the cartel.
___
Adriana Gomez Licon on Twitter: http://twitter.com/agomezlicon
