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Drug trafficker wanted for 15000 murders arrested in Mexico

01 August 2011 10:21 (UTC +04:00)

Mexico â€“ APA. A high-level member of the Juarez drug cartel wanted for at least 1,500 murders in Chihuahua state has been arrested, the Mexican Public Safety Secretariat said Sunday. Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez was one of the most-wanted men in Mexico and had a reward of 15 million pesos ($1.2 million) on his head, the secretariat said. Acosta confessed to â€œthe murders of approximately 1,500 people,â€ including â€œpolice officers from the three levels of government, officials, members of rival groups (and) members of his own organization who had lost his trust,â€ as well as other people who were killed â€œby mistake, thinking they were members of the Pacific cartel,â€ the secretariat said.

Mexican president Felipe Calderon has declared war on organized crime and drug mafia since he took power in 2006. He sent 60 000 troops to the borders with the United States, but the situation remains unchanged. Mafia killed over 40 000 people in the period of Calderonâ€™s presidency.

According to the independent experts, Mexican drug cartels gain 40 billion dollars annually from the drug trafficking to the US.