Zetas Gang Leader Dies in Shootout

Ricardo Almanza Morales is a suspected drug trafficker and leader of the gang known as Zetas. He is also accused of having killed Brigade General Juan Arturo Esparza, the local police chief, and his four body guards in November. Shortly after Esparza was named police chief he and his four body guards were killed. Of the ten people who were arrested in this killing, five were police officers in Garcia.

On Friday, troops were sent to search a villa in Monterrey, Mexico. Authorities had received information that Morales was in the villa. The troops were ambushed by armed men while searching the villa. At this location, there were roughly seven gunmen killed. One soldier was wounded, but is in stable condition. There were images provided by television crews which show a garden littered with bodies and a number of handcuffed men sitting on the ground with shirts pulled over their head to hide their faces and automatic rifles close by.

Armed gunmen in at least ten vehicles ran into a military convoy on their way to the villa to help the men who were being detained and a second shootout ensued. This instance left four people dead. During the shootout, one of the gunmen’s cars burst into flames and the three people inside died. Two of the bodies had their hands tied behind their backs; it is suspected that they were drug dealers who had been kidnapped. A fourth body was found nearby; it was the body of an innocent bystander who was killed by a stray bullet.

Hours after these shootouts took place a detention center in Monterrey was attacked. Twenty-three inmates were freed and two federal police officers were killed. It is suspected that Zetas members were involved in this incident as well. Members of these drug cartels do not need a reason to take a life. They will kill anyone in their path, even a child.

This violence does not only take place in Mexico, it spills over into U.S. states such as Texas and Arizona. There is a lot of drug smuggling that takes place along the Texas-Mexico border. Police use a combination of ground, water, and air patrol to try to catch these smugglers. As law enforcement steps up their game, drug smugglers becomes more bold and more organized, making it even harder to catch them. The following video shows how smugglers operate along the border and what law enforcement is trying to do to stop this.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8396941.stm
http://www.examiner.com/a-2356545~Shootouts_in_northern_Mexico_kill_13_after_raid.html
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/3130775/Mexico-drug-shootout-kills-13