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Mexico confirms death of feared Zetas boss

By By Mariano Castillo CNN
Published On: Oct 09 2012 11:39:09 AM CDT
Updated On: Oct 10 2012 02:52:32 AM CDT
Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano
(CNN) -

Mexico confirmed Tuesday that its forces killed Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, reputed boss of the ruthless Zetas cartel, but it remains uncertain what effect, if any, the killing will have on the larger scourge of drug trafficking and violence.

The kingpin's death is arguably the Mexican government's biggest takedown since President Felipe Calderon launched an offensive six years ago, but the record is mixed on the impact of such successes.

Mexican marines killed Lazcano in a shootout on Sunday in a small town in northern Mexico, 130 miles from the Texas border, the country's navy said.


In a twist, a group of armed men stole Lazcano's body from a funeral home, though authorities had already taken fingerprints and photographs to confirm his identity.


Other analysts said it was unclear how Lazcano's death would affect the Zetas.

"Even though the head falls, there is immediately a substitute," said Anabel Hernandez, a Mexican journalist who has investigated the country's cartels.

The intelligence firm Stratfor said it expects Lazcano's death to have little impact on the Zetas' operations.



Praising the navy's efforts Tuesday, Calderon described Lazcano as "one of the most important and most dangerous" people on Mexico's list of most wanted criminals.

The organization he led, Calderon said, is behind "countless high-impact crimes and extreme violence that many communities in the country have suffered."



The marines who killed Lazcano had responded Sunday to reports of an armed group in the town of Progreso, in the northern state of Coahuila, the navy said.

They were attacked with grenades thrown from a moving vehicle and a firefight ensued, it said.

A local newspaper reported scenes of "panic and terror" as the shootout erupted next to where families were enjoying a baseball game.







In ensuing years, the Zetas split into a major drug trafficking organization and have since branched out into extortion, kidnapping and human smuggling.




The cartel also is blamed for setting a fire at a casino in Monterrey that killed 52 people.

In May, authorities found 49 decapitated and dismembered bodies along a highway in Nuevo Leon. The orders to commit the grisly crime allegedly came from Lazcano, who originally wanted the bodies to be left in a town's central square. In banners purportedly hung by the cartel, the group denied involvement.
