Mexico arrests drug lord ‘Beltran Leyva’ posing as businessman

Hector Beltran Leyva, one of the most notorious Mexican drug lords still at large, was captured on Wednesday by soldiers at a seafood restaurant in a picturesque town in central Mexico popular with American retirees.

The government's announcement it had snared the boss of the Beltran Leyva cartel is a serious blow to a gang named after a group of brothers who became infamous for the bloody turf war they waged with their former ally, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman.

Beltran Leyva was caught in the picture postcard town of San Miguel de Allende, a three-hour drive northwest of Mexico City, and had been living in the nearby city of Queretaro posing as a businessman dealing in art and real estate, the government said.

The 49-year-old Beltran Leyva and an associate were carrying military-issue handguns, but like his adversary Guzman, he was arrested without a shot being fired. Guzman, who was the world's most wanted drug boss, was captured in Mexico in February.

Beltran Leyva shunned luxury cars, passing himself off as a well-off businessman, said Tomas Zeron, director of criminal investigations at the Attorney General's office.

"(Beltran Leyva) kept his operations away from his home so as not to alter his discreet, low-key lifestyle, avoiding attracting the attention of neighbors or friends or the authorities," Zeron said.

Beltran Leyva now faces charges of trafficking cocaine from Mexico and South America to the United States and Europe and a host of other crimes. In November, the U.S. Treasury Department said the Beltran Leyva gang was responsible for "countless murders" of Mexican anti-drugs and military personnel.

Hector's capture is a major victory for President Enrique Pena Nieto, who has sought to shift focus away from the violence that fighting the drug gangs has spawned in recent years and onto the economic reforms he has pushed through Congress.

Pena Nieto on his Twitter account touted the capture of Beltran Leyva, who had bounties on his head of $5 million in the United States and 30 million pesos ($2.2 million) in Mexico.

Hector, who Zeron said had likely branched out into selling synthetic drugs, was the only one of the gang's brothers known to be involved in drug trafficking not dead or behind bars.