U.S. Tijuana cartel leader arrested in Mexico

MEXICO CITY, March 12 (Xinhua) -- The Mexican government announced on Wednesday that the alleged leader of the illicit drug trafficking Tijuana cartel of the United States Gustavo Rivera Martinez has been arrested.

Mexico's Interior Minister Juan Camilo Mourino and the Public Security Minister Genaro Garcia Luna told a press conference that the arrest was carried out on Tuesday night along with that of three other suspects in Baja California, northwest of Mexico.

Mourino said Rivera Martinez was allegedly responsible "of Tijuana cartel's financial and criminal logistics."

Rivera Martinez has been a fugitive since 2002, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) had offered a 2 million U.S. dollar reward for his arrest.

Garcia Luna said authorities are investigating the other suspects' possible links to the cartel.

Garcia Luna also said that Rivera Martinez will be turned over to DEA, which wants him on drug charges.

The Tijuana cartel is one of Mexico's biggest drug trafficking group. Drug-related violence has exploded throughout the country. President Felipe Calderon has sent 24,000 troops and federal agents to violent hotspots to combat the traffickers.