Mexican authorities announced that they have arrested the leader of Mexico's largest and deadliest drug cartel, the Los Zetas drug cartel, in an early morning raid in Nuevo Leon.

Alejandro Treviño-Morales, one of Mexico's most wanted men, also known as "42" or "Omar", was arrested by joint elements of the Mexican Federal Police and the Mexican Army at about 4 a.m. Wednesday.

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The U.S. government considered Los Zetas to be the most technologically advanced, sophisticated, and dangerous cartel operating in Mexico.

The US State Department was offering a reward of up to US$5 million for information that would lead to the arrest or conviction of Treviño-Morales. The State Department is yet to issue a statement about the arrest of Mexico's most wanted man.

The arrest of Treviño-Morales, the brother of ex-Zetas leader Miguel Angel Trevino-Morales, came days after the capture of Servando 'La Tuta' Gomez, leader of another drug cartel, the Knights Templar.

Details of the arrest were not immediately known. It was also not yet disclosed whether or not a gunfight ensued during the operation.

Treviño-Morales and his Los Zetas drug cartel were believed responsible for several abductions and murders in Mexico.

The group was also believed responsible for supplying several kilograms of cocaine smuggled from Mexico to the United States.

Los Zetas operates internationally with presence in Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Chiapas, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Querétaro, Chihuahua, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, the United States, Guatemala, and Italy.

Zetas control at least 11 states, making them the cartel with the largest territory control. They are headquartered in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, which is also home to the Gulf Cartel.

On 9 May 2014, one of the founding members, Galindo Mellado Cruz, and four other armed men were killed in a shootout after Mexican security forces raided Cruz's hideout in the city of Reynosa.

TagsLos Zetas Drug Cartel, Alejandro Treviño-Morales, Mexican drug cartel