Notorious Mexican Drug war lord incarcerated

Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, one of the country's most infamous so- called drug kingpins, in the border city of Nuevo laredo was captured by mexican marines. He had terrorized the area for years as the head of a feared cartel, Los Zetas that has been blamed for the operation of torture and murder, both in Mexico and across the border in the U.S.

Trevino reportedly boasted over connections that he would never be taken alive, He had a reputation of leading the most vicious group in Mexico this time round, Many of Trevino's top lieutenants went down before he did. Alejandro Hope, a former member of Mexico's intelligence service,  Mexican authorities assumed he gave up without a fight.  As one law enforcement official imagined "This is a huge symbolic way to end his career", College of William and Mary professor George Grayson, who wrote a book on the Zetas, assumed that the arrest of Trevino could blot the foundation of the end of the bloody reign of the Zetas, The arrest was the first major blow against a drug cartel for the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office in December. The previous administration, led by President Felipe Calderon, captured or killed seven high-ranking cartel leaders beginning in 2011, part of an aggressive, nationwide war on drugs that led to an uptick in violence and a proliferation of gangs as crimes syndicates splintered. On hearing the above the U.S. had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Trevino's capture, and American drug enforcement officials congratulated their counterparts in Mexico for putting an end to his "ruthless leadership."  

However, Trevino’s rest doesn't mean the war against Los Zetas is over. Other powerful cartels also are expected to fight for any turf Los Zetas lose, including the "Sinaloa Cartel, considered the largest and most powerful supplier of cocaine to the United States," according to  The New York’s Times. Besides his younger brother, Omar, is likely to take his place. "You're going to have Omar, who's uniformly as cruel, although not as highly clever as Miguel, but he will be the successor apparent," Mike Vigil, former chief of international operations for the Drug Enforcement Administration told Houston Chronicle.

There is no doubt this is a win for Pena Nieto's government, though. His PRI party has a character for "making deals with Mexico's underworld," said Nick Miroff at The Washington Post, and American officials were worried he wouldn't be as determined to fight the drug lords as his predecessor — especially after he slapped new limits on the operations of the CIA and DEA in Mexico.

Now, according to Miroff, Pena Nieto and members of his administration can deliver on a key campaign promise by claiming "they are making progress on two fronts dismantling cartels and 'reducing violence.'"