The Mexican Army and state security forces have captured Jose Antonio Yepez, a notorious drug gang leader blamed for helping fuel a surge in violence that has severely tested the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
According to the federal government “El Marro” was captured early Sunday morning, in the central state of Guanajuato, one of the principal flashpoints of gang violence in Mexico.
Mr Yepez, boss of the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel, has been engaged in a bloody struggle for criminal control of the state with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the country’s most powerful and violent groups.
The capture should deliver a boost to President Lopez Obrador, who pledged to bring down record levels of violence plaguing the country when he took office in December 2018.
The Guanajuato Attorney General’s office said security forces captured Mr Yepez with five other people and rescued a kidnapped local businesswoman during the operation. Weapons were also secured during the raid.
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