Huerta Montiel was an army deserter before joining Los Zetas.
(meta data) TITLE: Mexico kidnappings arrest: Mexico arrests suspect in kidnappings, killings - Los Angeles Times 52 captures 13 Jan 2012 - 05 Jul 2022 About this capture COLLECTED BY Organization: Internet Archive The Internet Archive discovers and captures web pages through many different web crawls. At any given time several distinct crawls are running, some for months, and some every day or longer. View the web archive through the Wayback Machine. Collection: Wide Crawl started January 2012 Web wide crawl with initial seedlist and crawler configuration from January 2012 using HQ software. The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20120305064803/http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/18/world/la-fg-mexico-arrest-20110618 YOU ARE HERE: LAT Home→Collections→Migrants # Mexico says leader in kidnapping, killing of 72 migrants arrested ## Mexican police say Edgar Huerta Montiel, 22, confessed to leading the capture of two truckloads of undocumented migrants in Tamaulipas state, and the killing of 10 of the victims. He also allegedly told of ordering the kidnapping of six busloads of passengers in San Fernando, Mexico. Edgar Huerta Montiel is presented to the press by the Mexican Federal Police… (Yuri Cortez / AFP/ Getty Images)June 18, 2011|By Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times Reporting from Mexico City — Mexican authorities on Friday announced the arrest of the man they say directed the kidnappings of 72 Central and South American migrants found slain in northern Mexico last year. Federal police said Edgar Huerta Montiel, 22, told them he led the capture of two freight trucks packed with undocumented migrants in the state of Tamaulipas, then killed 10 of the victims. Huerta, described as an army deserter who works for the Zetas drug gang, allegedly told police he also ordered the kidnappings of six busloads of passengers in the rural town of San Fernando. Captives were taken to safe houses and tortured for information, including whether they were working for the Gulf cartel, a rival gang, said Ramon Eduardo Pequeno, head of the anti-drug division of the federal police. Tamaulipas, which borders Texas, has seen some of Mexico's worst violence amid fighting between the gangs and the inability of Mexican authorities to establish order. The bodies of the 72 migrants were found in August on a ranch in San Fernando after one member of the group escaped. In the same area, authorities this spring found graves containing the remains of nearly 200 people believed kidnapped from buses headed toward the border. At least 21 suspects have been arrested in those slayings. Migrants are frequently seized by gangs hoping to extort money from the victims' loved ones. Some Mexican news media reported that Huerta had told police that more than 600 victims had been buried in makeshift graves, though authorities did not confirm that. Huerta and his girlfriend were arrested Thursday in the northern state of Zacatecas. Authorities said he was a top aide to Salvador Alfonso Martinez Escobedo, an alleged Zetas chief in Tamaulipas known as "Squirrel." The Mexican government has offered a reward of about $1.3 million for information leading to Martinez's capture. Huerta also allegedly worked with another suspected crime boss, Martin Omar Estrada Luna, who was arrested in April by Mexican marines. ## Taking the bang out of pressure cooking ## Russians are leaving the country in droves ## Glen Campbell and Alzheimer's disease MORE: ## Divers find 8 more bodies on Costa Concordia cruise ship ## 22 Carnival Splendor cruise ship passengers robbed in Mexico AdvertisementRELATEDMexico's challenge: Aversion to competition, lack of respect for the lawLaw student clinic in Mexico aims highHow many have died in Mexico's drug war?Mexico Under Siege: The drug war at our doorstepPhoto: Edgar Huerta MontielFROM THE ARCHIVESMexican officials find 59 bodies in mass gravesApril 7, 2011Mexico says Zetas drug gang figure arrestedJanuary 19, 2011Mexico investigating kidnapping of 50 Central American...December 23, 2010Mexico kidnapping attempt leaves 8 deadFebruary 3, 2010MORE STORIES ABOUTMigrantsMexican AuthoritiesMexican PoliceCopyright 2012 Los Angeles TimesTerms of Service|Privacy Policy|Index by Date|Index by Keyword
train23266
2011 San Fernando massacre
Aftermath.:Arrests.
On 17 April 2011, in the capital city of Ciudad Victoria, Mexican authorities captured Martín Omar Estrada Luna, alias "El Kilo", lieutenant boss of Los Zetas in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, and responsible for at least 217 killings in that locality. Along with "El Kilo", 11 additional Zeta gunmen were apprehended. They were linked to the killing of a policeman and an investigator who were covering the massacres. In addition, Estrada Luna was one of the masterminds of the massacre of the 72 migrants and of the mass graves found. He was regarded by the DEA as "one of the most aggressive leaders in Los Zetas organization." Federal Police captured Édgar Huerta Montiel, alias "El Wache", a high-ranking lieutenant of Los Zetas and the man responsible for the killings of the 72 immigrants, on 17 June 2011 in Fresnillo, Zacatecas.