Mexico captures major drug lord

NUEVO LAREDO -- A Mexican military helicopter hovered south of the border in the early morning darkness.

Below it, one of the country's most wanted drug lords was riding in a pickup truck.

Mexican authorities say they'd been tracking Zetas cartel boss Miguel Angel Treviño Morales for months. Early Monday morning, their moment came to swoop in.

The helicopter stopped the pickup Treviño was riding in 27kilometers (about 16 miles) southwest of the border city of Nuevo Laredo, said Eduardo Sanchez Hernandez, the Mexican government's security spokesman.

Treviño, known as Z-40, had $2 million, eight weapons and hundreds of ammunition cartridges with him when he was captured around 3:45 a.m., Sanchez said.

The Zetas leader was in the pickup truck with two others, who were also arrested.

"It seems like one of them was in charge of financial operations of this gang and the other was a bodyguard," Sanchez said, adding that authorities would have more information after speaking with the suspects.

No shots were fired in the operation, said Sanchez, who didn't explain how the helicopter managed to stop the pickup.

"It made a maneuver that resulted in the truck stopping, and three people in the truck were apprehended by personnel on the ground who came to support the navy, which had made the detention using the helicopter," he said.

Treviño, 40, faces charges of organized crime, homicide, torture and money laundering, Sanchez said. There are at least seven arrest warrants for his capture.

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