Alleged drug gang leader arrested in Mexico
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-10-30 14:30

The alleged leader of a ruthless band of drug cartel hitmen was arrested in Mexico on Friday after a shootout with police on the border with the United States, the Mexican government said.

Attorney General Rafael Macedo said a federal agent and two members of the "Zetas" drug gang were killed during the firefight early on Friday in Mexico's border city of Matamoros.

Rogelio Gonzalez Pizana was wounded in the shootout and was arrested along with dozens of other suspects. He allegedly led the Zetas group that was formed by former army commanders and operates as a hit squad for the "Gulf Cartel" of cocaine smugglers.

The Zetas have been blamed for dozens of murders in turf battles with rival cartels.

U.S. authorities issued an arrest warrant against Gonzalez Pizana and offered $1 million for information leading to his capture for his alleged part in a confrontation with two U.S. anti-narcotics agents in 1999.

Friday's shootout began outside a bar in Matamoros, which lies just across the border from Brownsville, Texas.

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