The National Security Commissioner for Mexico, Renato Sales, confirmed the capture of Carlos Arturo Quintana, “El 80,” the leader of “La Línea”–the armed wing of the Juárez Cartel (Nuevo Cartel de Juárez) and one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives.
The National Security Commissioner announced the apprehension occurred on the morning of May 18, by the Mexican Army in coordination with the National Security Commission and Federal Police in Namiquipa, Chihuahua.
Quintana, currently listed under the FBI’s Criminal Enterprise Investigations, is wanted for drug trafficking charges in New Mexico. La Línea is considered one of the most violent in Chihuahua.
According to law enforcement sources from the Security Cabinet, they confirmed to La Jornada the participation of “an elite group” involved in the capture of Quintana.
Quintana was singled out by authorities for making threats against journalist Miroslava Breach Velducea, a correspondent for La Jornada in Chihuahua, murdered in March 2017.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), La Línea is currently involved in a bitter dispute for valuable territory in Chihuahua against the Sinaloa Cartel factions led by Rafael Caro-Quintero and Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada—both are wanted by the FBI.
Breitbart Texas reported extensively on the criminal activities of La Línea regarding the arrest of two former police officers from Ciudad Madera, Chihuahua, for weapons and drug violations. They later admitted to working for the faction. Breitbart Texas also reported on the arrest of the Deputy Police Director of Namiquipa for kidnapping—he was later found working for La Línea and is the cousin of Carlos Arturo Quintana, “El 80.”
Breitbart Texas reported on the ongoing cartel violence in Ciudad Juárez and the return of military assets to help quell the escalating bloodshed.
Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com
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