Mexican Drugs Lord Caught In Seafood Restaurant

One of Mexico's most notorious drug lords has been captured by special forces as he dined at a seafood restaurant.

Hector Beltran Leyva was arrested in San Miguel de Allende, in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato.

The 49-year-old and an associate were carrying military-issue handguns but no shots were fired in the operation.

Beltran Leyva had been living in the nearby city of Queretaro where he posed as a businessman dealing in art and real estate, the government said.

His detention, after an 11-month investigation, comes months after the arrest of his arch rival Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman.

Guzman was the boss of the Sinaloa cartel, which is considered the most powerful drugs gang in Mexico.

He was caught in February after more than a decade on the run following his escape from prison.

Mexican authorities say Beltran Leyva assumed leadership of the family's cartel after his brother Arturo was killed by Mexican troops in a shoot-out late in 2009.

Two other brothers are behind bars for their involvement in the cartel.

The gang terrorised parts of central Mexico for years, including Morelos state to the south of Mexico City.

Two federal officials told The Associated Press DNA tests were being carried out to confirm Beltran Leyva's identity, although there were no doubts the right man had been apprehended.

"This action proves the effectiveness of the public policy of security and law enforcement to achieve the Mexico at peace that we desire," President Enrique Pena Nieto tweeted.

According to the US State Department, Beltran Leyva, alias "The H" and "The Engineer", was born in February 1965 in the northern Mexican state of Sinaloa, a cradle of drug trafficking.

He has been indicted in courts in the District of Columbia and New York, and the US has offered a reward of up to $5m (£3.1m) or information leading to his capture.

Mexico had offered its own bounty of 30 million pesos, about $3.7m (£2.27m).

US and Mexican authorities say the Beltran Leyva gang is responsible for trafficking drugs to the United States and Europe including cocaine, marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine.

It was originally part of Guzman's cartel, but went its own way in 2008.