Top drug cartel leader in Mexico possibly killed in firefight, officials say - Los Angeles Times

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican authorities said late Monday they may have killed the top leader of the notorious Zetas paramilitary force in a gun and grenade battle in the state of Coahuila, in what would be the most important blow to powerful drug cartels to date.

In a brief statement, the Mexican Navy said there were "strong indications" that special forces had killed Heriberto Lazcano, maximum leader of the Zetas. He was one of two people killed in a skirmish with a marine patrol on Sunday near the town of Progreso, the navy said.

The marine patrol was responding to citizens' reports of armed individuals in the area when it came under gunfire and a barrage of grenades, the statement said. The patrol returned fire, killing two men. Initial forensic tests indicated one of the dead men was Lazcano.

With Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman, head of the vast Sinaloa cartel, Lazcano was at the top of Mexico's most-wanted list. Authorities offered a bounty of more than $2 million for his capture. The U.S. also offered a reward of $5 million.

Lazcano was a soldier in the Mexican army who quit in the late 1990s and was recruited as one of the original members of the Zetas, formed initially as the paramilitary force working on behalf of the Gulf cartel. Under Lazcano, the Zetas broke from the Gulf cartel nearly two years ago and rose to become the strongest criminal organization after the Sinaloa cartel.

Nicknamed the Executioner, Lazcano is held responsible for some of the most grisly massacres and attacks in Mexico's drug-related history.

Under Lazcano, the Zetas quickly branched out from drug-running to a large array of crimes including the trafficking of migrants and kidnapping. The Zetas have been locked in a deadly battle to wipe out the Gulf cartel and challenge Sinaloa as the groups vie to control northern and central Mexico.

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-- Tracy Wilkinson

Photo: This undated file photo from the Mexico attorney general's office website shows alleged Zetas drug cartel leader and founder Heriberto Lazcano in an undisclosed location. Credit: Associated Press