Suspected Drug Lord Arrested In Mexico

Suspected drug kingpin Hector Huerta Rios The Mexican army has arrested a top drug cartel chief and four of his bodyguards, the government announced Wednesday.

Hector Huerta Rios, also known as "La Burra" or "El Junior," was arrested Tuesday in the city of San Pedro Garza Garcia in Nuevo Leon state, along Mexico's border with the United States.

The state-run Notimex news agency reported the announcement, citing a news conference held by the secretary of national defense and the attorney general's office.

Huerta was flown to Mexico City on Tuesday night to face federal charges.

Federal officials showed the four suspects to the media in a news conference Wednesday. Video footage on CNN affiliate Televisa shows Huerta flanked on each side by two other suspects. He is looking straight ahead, a solemn countenance on his mustachioed face. Hooded soldiers are stationed to the sides and behind the suspects.

Huerta is a suspect in the September 2006 shooting death of Marcelo Garza y Garza, the head of the State Agency of Investigations, news reports said.

News of Huerta's capture made the front pages of El Porvenir, La Prensa and El Milenio newspapers.

Huerta's arrest came one day after Mexican authorities announced rewards of up to $2 million for information leading to the capture of top cartel operatives.

Huerta, considered by authorities as the principal operator for the Sinaloa cartel in northern Mexico, was on the government's list. The reward for his capture was 15 million pesos ($1 million). CNN

His arrest resulted from intelligence operations though, and not from a tip, so officials will not pay a reward, El Porvenir reported, citing a military official.