Martín Omar Estrada Luna, aka, "El Kilo"
Photos: Publimetro dot com/Semar
Body count could rise as investigators uncover graves.
By H. Nelson Goodson
April 18, 2011
Mexico City - On Sunday, the Mexican Department of Navy (Semar) presented Martín Omar Estrada Luna, aka, "El Kilo or El Comandante" during a press conference. Luna, the leader of the Zeta cartel in the state of Tamaulipas is accused of kidnappings and the murder of more than 220 victims in San Fernando. He was taken into custody by Mexican marines on Saturday in the city of Victoria.
He was arrested along with five other suspected members of Los Zetas. They were identified as Luis Manuel Salazar Sánchez, 26, Heber Alfredo Ahumada Banda, 26, aka, “El Cholo,” Julieta Maricela Almaguer Reyes, 25, Juana Marlene Celaya Saldaña, 18, and Lucero Peña Martínez, 18.
In a second operation, marines arrested the following suspects also implicated with the San Fernando Zeta homicides. They were identified as Miguel A. Hernández Hernández, 40, aka, “El Chimuelo,” Víctor Cuitláhuac Montoya Torres, 22, aka, “Degollado,” Yezenia Vianey López Romero, 21, Claudia Valeria Fuentes Martínez, 19, aka, “La Popis,” Delia Selene Rodríguez Carlos, 18, and José Eduardo González Fuentes, 18,
Three vehicles were confiscated, 6 high power rifles, 10 bullet magazines, 344 rounds of various types of ammunition and drugs including cocaine and marijuana, according to Semar.
Last week, 16 San Fernando municipal police officers were taken into custody for being on the Zeta payroll and for covering up the massacre that claimed the lives of more than 220 people. They were also implicated in the cover up of 72 homicides in 2010. In August, the bodies of victims mostly immigrants were discovered in clandestine graves in San Fernando.
Mexican authorities believe the body count could rise as investigators continue to uncover graves.
On April 14, Mexican marines arrested 24 suspects implicated in the recent discovery of 148 bodies buried in clandestine graves in San Fernando. They also confiscated 13 vehicles, 15 high power rifles, 100 bullet magazines, 1,230 rounds of various types of ammunition.
The Mexican Attorney General's Office (PRG) has confirmed, that 55 suspects, including 16 municipal police officers and 39 alleged Zeta members have been detained in connection with the multiple homicides, since the first clandestine graves were discovered on April 6. A Mexican federal judge has ordered 22 suspects held for 40 days allowing federal prosecutors time to gather evidence for homicide convictions.
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