The Mexican army said Thursday it had captured a top drugcartel lieutenant who allegedly ordered an arson attack on a casino that killed52 people in August.
Carlos Oliva Castillo, alias "The Frog," a reputedleader of the extremely violent Zetas cartel, was detained by soldiers Wednesdayin the northern city of Saltillo, said Defense Department spokesman RicardoTrevilla. He has not yet been formally charged.
Zetas gunmen opened fire on security forces in an attempt todistract soldiers and rescue Castillo, a sign of his importance to the criminalorganization, Col. Trevilla added. The firing went on for several hours andcaused panic in the city. Drug cartel gunmen in Mexico rarely attackauthorities in a bid to free arrested leaders.
Oliva Castillo allegedly led the gang on its home turf, inthe northern Gulf coast state of Tamaulipas, as well as in the importantnorthern battleground states of Coahuila and Nuevo Leon. He ranked third inimportance to the two top Zeta leaders, Heriberto "Lazca" Lazcano andMiguel Angel Trevino, Trevilla said.
The stocky 37-year-old was flown to Mexico City andpresented, handcuffed and tightlipped, to the news media. Trevilla said thereare "several pieces of evidence" indicating that Oliva Castilloordered a subordinate, Francisco Medina Mejia, to pour gasoline in and set fireto the Royale casino in the northern city of Monterrey on Aug. 25.
Investigators have identified or arrested more than a dozensuspects in the attack, which they say appears to have been triggered by theowners' refusal to pay protection money to the Zetas.
Oliva Castillo was detained along with his presumedgirlfriend and his chief bodyguard at a safe house where soldiers found tworifles and pistols.
The reputed cartel leader also acted as the Zetas headaccountant, receiving money from different criminal enterprises, said federalprosecutors' spokesman Octavio Campos.
Campos said prosecutors had received an anonymous tip aboutOliva Castillo's activities along with a photo of him.
The Zetas organization was formed by deserters from an elitemilitary unit in the 1990s and acted as the armed wing of the Gulf drug cartelin Tamaulipas before the two gangs split in 2010 and started bloody turf warsin several states, including Nuevo Leon, where Monterrey is located. Lazcano andTrevino remain at large, and authorities have offered a 30 million-peso ($2.25million) reward for each of their arrests.
A law enforcement offensive in the three northern statessince late August has resulted in 724 arrests, the freeing of 36 kidnap victims,and the seizure of 1,629 guns, 165 grenades, and more than 27.5 tons ofmarijuana, Trevilla told a news conference.