Authorities in Spain announced the arrest of a 54-year-old Moroccan man who they claim was the leader in Europe of the fearsome Mexican cartel known as Los Zetas. The arrest comes soon after U.S. authorities revealed that the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel Jalisco New Generation had close to 44,000 members in 100 countries around the globe.
The arrest took place this week in Madrid, when authorities arrested five drug traffickers and seized close to 1,000 kilograms of cocaine and €200,000. The head of the criminal organization has been identified as a man named Said, 54, who was described as very elusive and difficult to track. According to authorities, Said was based in Madrid but expanded the presence of Los Zetas to other parts of Spain.
Spain’s National Police carried out the arrest, along with U.S. Homeland Security and Colombia’s National Police. Spanish authorities released a short video of the actual arrest.
The information released by Spanish authorities does not show any participation by Mexican authorities in the arrest of the Los Zetas leader, even though that criminal organization is based in Mexico.
The arrest of a top Los Zetas operator in Spain comes just days after the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Anne Milgram, testified before Congress that the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel Jalisco New Generation had close to 44,000 members and associates in 100 countries. As Breitbart Texas reported, Last week Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador criticized Milgram’s comments demanding that she provide proof. Lopez Obrador has been internationally criticized for his refusal to fight drug cartels, claiming that violence is not the answer.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.