HispanicBusiness

A local boss, a bookkeeper and 34 other suspected members of the Gulf drug cartel were arrested in a series of clashes that took 11 lives, the Navy said Monday.

The arrests of Ricardo Salazar Pequeno, the suspected Gulf cartel boss in Ciudad Aleman, bookkeeper Gabriela Gomez Robles and others took place during operations between October 5 and 9 in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas, said Navy spokesman Jose Luis Vergara. Ciudad Aleman borders the US state of Texas.

The authorities also captured four tons of marijuana, an RPG rocket, two anti-tank grenades, four anti-personnel grenades, 35 grenade launchers, 10 grenade launching tubes, homemade explosives, 67 large arms, five small arms and more than 18,000 cartridges.

In the clashes, the Navy also encountered a number of vehicles modified with armour.

More than 40,000 civilians have been killed in incidents linked to organized crime since Mexico President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006 and launched a fierce war on the powerful drug cartels.