Mexico Navy arrests Gulf drug cartel leader
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Mexico City • The Mexican navy says it has detained the leader of the Gulf drug cartel in the northern state of Tamaulipas, across the border from Texas.
The navy says Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sanchez was caught Wednesday. It says it will provide more information Thursday.
Costilla led the Gulf cartel's fierce fight for control of northeastern Mexico against its former enforcer arm Los Zetas.
His arrest is the latest blow to the weakened Matamoros-based Gulf Cartel. It has struggled to keep the Zetas from taking over all of its territory since the two split in early 2010 and began a bloody turf war.