A Mexican military helicopter hovered south of the border in the early morning darkness.
Treviño, known as Z-40, had $2 million, eight weapons and hundreds of ammunition cartridges with him when he was captured around 3:45 a.m., Sanchez said.
The Zetas leader was in the pickup truck with two others, who were also arrested.
“It seems like one of them was in charge of financial operations of this gang and the other was a bodyguard,”
Sanchez said, adding that authorities would have more information after speaking with the suspects.
“It made a maneuver that resulted in the truck stopping, and three people in the truck were apprehended by personnel on the ground who came to support the navy, which had made the detention using the helicopter,”
he said.
The high-profile arrest of Treviño came the same day that Mexico’s defense secretary and the head of Mexico’s navy met with Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
A senior U.S. State Department official praised Mexican authorities for Monday’s arrest.
“Credit goes to the Mexican government for this,”
the official said.
“It is a very big get.”
It is unclear whether the arrest will qualify for the U.S. government’s reward program, the official said.
“We work well with these guys and congratulate them,”
the official said.
