The Mexican Navy announced that the notorious Heriberto Lazcano AKA "El Lazca" [5]—maximum leader of Los Zetas—was killed along with his chauffeur in a shoot-out near a baseball park in Progreso, Coahuila, Oct. 7. But two days later, the body was lost when an armed commando raided the funeral home where it was being held in the nearby town of Sabinas. Naval authorities insist a positive identification had been made through fingerprint analysis, although the results of DNA tests are still being awaited. Mexico's Governance Secretary Alejandro Poiré blamed a "lack of coordination" between federal and Coahuila forces for the loss of the body.
Lazcano, also known as "El Verdugo" (the Executioner), deserted an elite Mexican army unit and rose to head the Zetas, considered to be Mexico's most brutal cartel. The US has a $5 million price on his head. (Milenio [6], Oct. 10; APRO [7], WSJ [8], Oct. 9)
