According to Alerta News 24, a video appeared to show Mexican cartel leader Jose Alberto García Vilano, known as “La Quena,” being arrested on Friday.
Mr. Vilano is said to have run the infamous Los Cyclones. cellA video appears to show authorities receiving leaked information about Vilano's whereabouts and arresting him in Monterrey, Mexico. according to to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). (Related: Mexican drug cartels are expanding into new industries – Wi-Fi, prosecutors say: Report)
The video footage posted on Twitter by Alerta News 24 appears to have been shot from inside the department store's shopping plaza. In this video, the camera is angled behind a wall and appears to be looking into the main aisle of a shopping mall.
Alerta News 24 reported that a group of handcuffed men, believed to be Villano, were walking down a hallway as loud music played in the background. Directly behind him was another handcuffed man wearing a white sweatshirt, also flanked by authorities.
🇲🇽 | Urgent: Complete Cartel del Golfo's mission to capture “La Quena” and protect the security of Tamaulipas.
pic.twitter.com/Mx252kGNmy— Alerta News 24 (@AlertaNews24) January 19, 2024
According to the BBC, Villano and his group allegedly kidnapped four Americans in early March 2023, killing two of them.
The four Americans driving According to a press release from the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, unidentified gunmen allegedly opened fire on a car with North Carolina license plates near the Mexican city of Matamoros. After the incident, the tourists were put into a car by the men and left the scene, the statement added. (Related: Major drug trafficker linked to Sinaloa Cartel shot dead in Los Angeles)
Immediately after that, two of them American According to the New York Post, he was found and escorted away by Mexican authorities and the National Guard. CNN reported that the four Americans traveled to the country for cosmetic medical procedures, which are popular due to their low prices. The remaining two tourists were later found dead and reportedly taken to the United States by Mexican authorities.
A motive for the alleged attack has not been officially announced by Mexican authorities, but an ongoing investigation believes the gang may have mistaken the Americans for a rival cartel group, the BBC said. Following the attack, a splinter group of the Gulf Cartel took responsibility for the kidnapping and handed over five men allegedly involved in the attack, the newspaper reported.
A $145,000 reward has been offered by the state government of Tamaulipas since 2022 for information that could lead to Vilano's arrest, the BBC reported.
