Veracruz police struck a blow against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) with the arrest of a former Veracruz police officer believed to be the cartel’s plaza boss in Tres Valles, Veracruz.

Antonio “El Jaguar” N. was arrested with another man in the Ejido neighborhood of Coatzacoalcos when they tried to flee from a police checkpoint. A search of the car revealed two AR-15 rifles, a Browning 9-millimeter pistol, 226 rounds of ammunition of various calibers, body armor and fake uniforms of various security forces including the navy.

According to the Veracruz Public Security Secretariat (SSP), “El Jaguar” had worked as a police officer in the municipalities of Cuitláhuac, Tlacatalpan and Juan Rodríguez Clara. He is linked to the killings of a lawyer and two agronomists, as well as other murders and disappearances in southern Veracruz.

Over the past 10 years, the CJNG has grown from controlling not only its home state of Jalisco to become one of the biggest criminal organizations in Mexico, operating in 22 of the country’s 32 states.

According to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, the cartel also operates in Europe and Asia.

Source: Infobae (sp), Proceso (sp), Imagen del Golfo (sp)