MEXICO CITY—The Mexican navy nabbed a suspected Zetas cartel leader accused of involvement in some of the country's most notorious crimes in recent years, authorities said Monday.

Navy spokesman Jose Luis Vergara announced that Salvador Alfonso Martinez Escobedo was arrested Saturday and is believed to have masterminded the massacre of 72 migrants in the northern state of Tamaulipas in 2010.



Asked if she had confidence that Mexican authorities had arrested the man responsible for her husband's killing, Tiffany Hartley said, "It's really hard to really feel like this is going to be the final, but at the same time we're very hopeful that it will because we want some closure as a family."

She said she was hoping for more details on how Martinez might be linked to her husband's death and also for information on where her husband's remains are so the family can move forward.

"But that's what we're really looking for is: What is his link to David and does he know where David's body is?" sad Hartley, who lives in La Salle, Colorado.


Vergara said Martinez was captured in Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas. He was shown to the news media Monday.


The mass prison escapes that authorities believe the 31-year-old Martinez is behind have been the largest in recent history. The most recent escape of 131 inmates was considered to be orchestrated by the Zetas to replenish its forces in northern Mexico, where is in a war with the powerful Sinaloa Cartel.

Vergara did not offer evidence on Martinez's specific involvement in any of the alleged crimes.

Martinez is considered to be the Zetas' regional chief for the northern states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon and Coahuila, the more important areas for the brutal cartel.

He was "a trusted man and direct assistant" to Miguel Angel Trevino, one of the two feared alleged top leaders of the Zetas, Vergara said.

Mexican authorities had posed a $1 million reward for Martinez. They say he headed the battle that erupted in 2010 between the Zetas and its previous ally, the Gulf Cartel. The Gulf gang has suffered major blows this year with the capture of its two main bosses.


Associated Press writer Peter Banda in Denver, Colorado, contributed to this report.