The presumed kingpin of the Gulf Cartel, Mario Armando Ramírez Treviño AKA "El Pelón" (Baldy), who also went by the code-name X-20, was arrested by Mexican army troops along with two henchmen in Río Bravo, Tamaulipas, Aug. 17. Only one shot was fired in the apprehension. Spokesmen for the administration of President Enrique Peña-Nieto in announcing the capture predicted that it would put the breaks on the nightmarish violence in Tamaulipas between the Gulf Cartel and its rivals Los Zetas, and noted that several Gulf criminal operatives have been arrested this month. 

Ramírez Treviño is wanted in the US, where the State Department had issued a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest. Mexican authorities have not stated whether he will be extradited or first face charges within Mexico. He is now in the hands of the Special Sub-Prosecutor for Organized Crime (SEIDO) in Mexico City, where he faces interrogation before being turned over to the criminal justice system. Ramírez Treviño is believed to have assumed leadership of the Gulf Cartel after the arrest last September of its top boss, Eduardo Costilla AKA "El Coss." (Excélsior, Aug. 18; LAT, BBC News, Aug. 17)





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