How did Mexican drug lord Arturo Beltran Leyva die?
The death of drug cartel leader Arturo Beltran Leyva in a shootout with Mexican authorities, though praised by President Felipe Calderon as a major victory against rampant drug trafficking and violence, has left many authorities and residents expecting more bloodshed. Residents of the upscale Altitude apartment complex, scene of the shootout Wednesday night, and other locals were reportedly left cleaning bloodstains while wondering whether a call for revenge or a move for more power by players within the crime world will bring more violence. Beltran Leyva, known at the “boss of bosses,” and several suspected members of his Sinaloa-based gang were gunned down at the apartment complex in Cuernavaca during a raid by navy troops. The shootout lasted about one to two hours, according to various accounts, and included drug gang members tossing grenades at the troops. In addition to Beltran Leyva, five suspected cartel members and one navy commando were killed. Concerns about drug activities
Mexico turns to navy to bolster flagging drug war MONTERREY, Mexico (Reuters) – Faced with ever-worsening drug cartel violence, Mexican President Felipe Calderon is turning to elite navy troops to help reignite his floundering army-led drug war. The navy scored the biggest victory yet of Calderon’s three-year struggle to stem drug violence when its special forces killed a top drug lord this week, showing how it is breaking out of its traditional role and moving inland. Naval troops shot dead Arturo Beltran Leyva, aka “The Boss of Bosses,” in a raid at a luxury apartment complex in a city near the capital. The heavily armed troops in ski masks pinpointed Beltran Leyva’s location, descended from helicopters to surround him and opened fire in the operation known only to a handful of government officials. The strike followed a string of successful navy operations across Mexico, including the killing of a top Gulf cartel hitman in the northern city of Monterrey this month. Analysts say the
Arturo Beltran Leyva, head of one of Mexico’s top drug cartels, was killed in Cuernavaca along with four members of his gang in a battle with Mexican soldiers. As Mexican cartels grew in power, drug agents say he forged a smuggling empire stretching from the jungles of Colombia to the avenues of New York City. He is alleged to have masterminded the killing of hundreds who stood in his way, including federal police chief Edgar Millan, who was shot dead in his own home in May 2008. Some agents worry that the reins of this smuggling empire may now be taken over by Beltrán Leyva’s feared chief of hit-men, Edgar Valdez, 36, a Texan-born fugitive known as “The Barbie” because of his blond hair. Mexican officials allege that Valdez was behind the videotaped torture and killing of a rival gangster in Acapulco in 2005. Sources: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1948708,00.html#ixzz0a
