Mexican forces have arrested a man they say is a key figure in the country's most powerful drugs cartel.
Noel Salgueiro Nevarez is accused of running the Sinaloa cartel's operations in the northern state of Chihuahua, where drug violence is rampant. Defence officials said his arrest would seriously weaken the cartel in Mexico and abroad. The arrest was made on the same day as that of Martin Rosales Magana, who is accused of leading the La Familia gang. The army said Mr Salgueiro Nevarez was seized in a carefully planned military operation, without a shot being fired. Defence Ministry spokesman Ricardo Trevilla Trejo said Noel Salgueiro Nevarez was behind much of the extreme violence which has plagued Ciudad Juarez, Mexico's murder capital. He said the suspect, also known as El Flaco (The Skinny One), led a gang of hitmen who extorted local businessmen, kidnapped for ransom, and tortured and killed members of a rival gang, the Juarez cartel. 'Criminal career' Continue reading the main story Analysis Ignacio de los Reyes BBC Mundo, Mexico City The Sinaloa Cartel controls t...