Just two days after a key member of the notorious Arellano-Felix cartel was caught in Tijuana, six more dead bodies were found associated with drug trafficking.
The victims, all men, had been shot between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., according to a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune. One of the victims was found near a middle school. In the last 30 days, nearly 150 people killed by groups of gunmen believed to be working for drug mafias, Mexican officials said.
Mexico's Defense Department said Eduardo Arellano-Felix, known as "El Doctor," one of the members of the infamous drug cartel and a fugitive on the DEA's Most Wanted List. A federal grand jury in San Diego indicted Arellano in 2003 on drug, racketeering and conspiracy charges.
He was captured Saturday around 5:30 p.m after a shootout at his nephew's home. The nephew, Fernando Sanchez Arellano, is now considered the leader of the criminal organization.
The Arellano-Felix cartel is considered the most violent drug trafficking cartel in North America. A recent rash of violence in Tijuana has some experts speculating the cartel is slipping. Former federal prosecutor John Kirby said Eduardo Arellano-Felix has not held a leadership position within the Arellano-Felix Cartel in recent years.
"He has become a bit of a recluse and has not moved to take a leadership role in the organization," said Kirby.
Kirby says the violence in Tijuana in recent months is a power struggle between two factions within the cartel. He believes this arrest will have little affect on the killings.
