Federal Investigators Among Those Arrested in Mexican Drug Raids

MEXICO CITY — Five federal drug investigators were among 16 people arrested for protecting one of Mexico’s most wanted drug suspects, Mexican prosecutors said.

In a statement released late Friday, the federal attorney general’s office said the five federal agents were among those arrested as part of an operation to dismantle the smuggling ring allegedly led by Osiel Cardenas, a Mexican drug kingpin who operates out of Reynosa and Matamoros in the state of Tamaulipas near the Texas border.

Six of those detained were former soldiers, two were local police officers and three worked as a cleaning employee, an assistant and a gunsmith.

Prosecutors said the former soldiers, who had been members of an elite airborne unit, posed as members of the Mexican army to help in the drug trade.

Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, the head of Mexico’s special unit on organized crime, said the recent raids have weakened Cardenas’ Gulf cartel by dismantling one of his key units. Three light planes, 12 homes, 13 vehicles and 18 weapons were seized in the raids in Tamaulipas, Vasconcelos said.

President Vicente Fox has promised to crack down on Mexico’s drug smugglers and members of the armed forces who help move drugs through the country.

U.S. officials have offered a $2-million reward for Cardenas, who the FBI says has threatened the lives of U.S. anti-drug and customs agents.