El Cebollo, Marro's security chief was arrested with El Marro, U.S. Ambassador tweets his congratulations

Chivis Martinez Borderland Beat EFE ElSolDelBajio

Guanajuato (Mexico), Aug 2 (EFE) .- During this Sunday's operation in which the leader of the powerful Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, José Antonio Yépez Ortiz "El Marro", was arrested, eight collaborators were also arreste., the Mexican Defense Secretariat reported.

The operation carried out between federal and state forces in the central state of Guanajuato included two buildings located in the small municipality of Santa Cruz de Juventino Rosas, with 80,000 inhabitants and located just 15 kilometers from Villagrán, the city where the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel emerged.

In one of them was located El Marro, who turned 40 on July 23 and was one of the most wanted drug lords by the Mexican authorities for being the head of a criminal organization dedicated to oil theft, drug transfer, extortion and kidnapping.

Along with Marro, Saulo Sergio "N", nicknamed "El Cebollo", who is allegedly his chief of security, and eight other members of the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, were also arrested.

Similarly, in the same house a businesswoman, originally from the nearby municipality of Apaseo El Alto, who had been kidnapped days ago, was located.

Five long weapons, three short ones, a grenade launcher, a pick-up, an ATV, a motorcycle and a suitcase with money were also found, the amount of which has not yet been revealed.

In the other building, three other alleged members of the cartel were located.

Yépez Ortiz as transferred by helicopter to the maximum-security prison of El Altiplano, located in the State of Mexico, where he will be available to a federal judge to be tried for the crimes of organized crime and fuel theft.

USA CELEBRATES CAPTURE

The United States ambassador to Mexico, Christopher Landau, celebrated through Twitter the capture of the leader of this powerful cartel.

"Excellent news to start this Sunday: the capture of the criminal El Marro in Guanajuato. Criminals think they are so alive and ready, but in the end we will always win the good guys. Long live the rule of law!" Said the diplomat. 

Others tweeted back reminding him of Ovidio Guzman's release by AMLO.

The governor of Guanajuato, Diego Sinhue, who has had several disagreements with López Obrador in matters of security, expressed that "this arrest is a great process to regain peace" in that region.

For her part, the Secretary of the Interior (Interior Minister), Olga Sánchez Cordero, stressed that the arrest is "an example of the result of the coordination of the institutions of the Mexican State" and congratulated the Army, the Navy, the National Guard and the Guanajuato Prosecutor's Office for the result.

The Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel has maintained a bloody war with the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación  for control of the territory since 2018.

As a result of this dispute, Guanajuato became the state with the most murders in Mexico, with 2,293 crimes in the first half of this year.