海角大神

A months-long investigation led the Mexican government to one of its most-wanted men on Monday, Miguel Angel Trevi帽o Morales, the leader of the brutal Zetas criminal organization.

The man known as 鈥淶-40鈥� eluded United States and Mexican authorities for a decade, during which time the organization that eventually came under his control terrorized large swaths of Mexico with extraordinary violence. In the predawn hours, around 3:45 a.m., a Marines helicopter intercepted a pick-up truck and apprehended Mr. Trevi帽o Morales and two other men.

Not a single shot was fired.

The capture represents the biggest success yet in security matters for the eight-month-old administration of President Enrique Pe帽a Nieto. But the victory is likely the result of the power and experience gained by the Marines during the previous administration, according to Steven Dudley, co-director of InSight Crime, which researches and analyzes organized crime in Latin America.

The Marines were key to President Felipe Calder贸n鈥檚 kingpin strategy, focused on apprehending organized crime leaders. [Related: A glimpse of Mexico's new crime fighting strategy.]

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we should discard this ability to take down kingpins: It shows advancement,鈥� says Mr. Dudley. 鈥淭his means the country鈥檚 security forces and intelligence capabilities are getting better. The bad side is that you fragment these organizations; if you don鈥檛 simultaneously go after the mid-level guys, you will upset the balance of power.鈥�

In the short term, the regions controlled by Trevi帽o Morales could see a spike in violence as a fight ensues among his underlings to assume control, Dudley says.

The Zetas not only move large quantities of drugs but are also responsible for piracy, human trafficking, and the extortion, kidnapping, and murder of hundreds of migrants headed to the US. Specifically, Trevi帽o Morales is accused of organized crime, torture, homicide, and money laundering, said Eduardo Sanchez, spokesman for the government鈥檚 security cabinet, in a press conference.

The Zetas originally served as the protection arm of the Gulf cartel, formed in 1997聽by soldiers who deserted an elite, US-trained Mexican army force. Their name, according to InSight Crime, came from the radio code used for top-level officers in the army.

Trevi帽o Morales wasn鈥檛 one of the original army deserters, nor was he a soldier. Yet he worked his way up in the organization and became feared for his extraordinary violence. He is accused of ordering the massacre of 265 migrants, whose bodies were discovered in a mass graves in San Fernando, Tamaulipas, in 2010 and 2011.

The US had offered a $5 million award for information that could lead to his capture.

The Mexican government said it apprehended Trevi帽o Morales and two others, Abd贸n Federico Rodriguez Garc铆a and Ernesto Reyes Garc铆a, 17 miles south of Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas.