Mexico Nabs Gang Suspect Linked to Model's Murder

Mexico City: A suspected Mexican drug gang leader linked to the killings of a Jalisco state official and a Venezuelan model was arrested on a boat off the Caribbean coast, authorities said on Tuesday.

Troops detained Daniel Quintero Riestra on Monday some three nautical miles off the state of Quintana Roo, said National Security Commissioner Renato Sales.

Quintero Riestra is among Mexico's 122 most wanted men and was sought on charges of kidnapping and homicide, Sales said, adding that the suspect oversaw a criminal group's operations in the western city of Guadalajara, Jalisco state.

Investigations connect him to at least four murders in Guadalajara, including an attack by gunmen against Jalisco's tourism secretary in March 2013, the commissioner said.

Sales did not give details about the Venezuelan woman's murder, but a model from that country was found dead in Guadalajara in December 2012, days after being kidnapped outside a bar.

While Sales did not say which criminal group Quintero Riestra worked for, the Jalisco New Generation Drug Cartel is the most powerful gang in the state.