Mexican authorities Sunday announced the capture of Sergio Villareal Barragán, alias El Grande, allegedly head of an assassin's network for the Beltran-Leyva DTO.
Mexican authorities Sunday announced the capture of Sergio Villareal Barragán, alias El Grande, allegedly head of an assassin's network for the Beltrán Leyva Organization. Villareal, who had a $2 million award on his head, was arrested alongside two other operatives at his luxury home 125 km (70 miles) north of Mexico City, Mexico's La Crónica newspaper reports. A former agent for the Prosecutor General's office and an ex-police officer, Villareal started out working alongside the Juarez Cartel in 1995, trafficking drugs to the US from his power base in Coahuila. He is allegedly responsible for coordinating hits against high-ranking members of the security forces, Mexico's El Universal newspaper reports in a brief bio. A spokesman for Mexico's marines denied that intelligence from Edgar Valdez Villarreal, alias La Barbie, led to the capture, but did say that the two men have been rivals since the death of Arturo Beltrán Leyva in December 2009. Alongside Héctor Beltrán Leyva, Villareal was apparently fighting Valdez and other rivals for control of the group, formerly a wing of the Sinaloa Cartel.