Mexico City (AFP) - Mexico on Tuesday deported an alleged drug cartel leader to the United States, the government said, after his arrest triggered gunfire and chaos in a northern border city.
Juan Gerardo Trevino was wanted by the United States for drug trafficking and money laundering and by Mexico for murder and terrorism, according to the Mexican defense ministry.
The alleged Northeast Cartel boss was handed over to US authorities early Tuesday, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters.
Since Trevino has dual Mexican-US nationality, there was no need to wait for a US extradition request to be processed, he added.
Suspected members of the Northeast Cartel clashed with security forces in Nuevo Laredo in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, near the border with the United States, after Trevino was arrested on Sunday, officials said.
Videos shared by residents on social media showed cars and trucks set on fire.
The United States announced Monday it was closing its consulate in Nuevo Laredo until further notice due to the violence.
Trevino was detained with an unspecified number of gunmen after his gang opened fire on a military patrol in the city bordering Laredo, Texas, according to the defense ministry.
He is the nephew of detained drug lord Miguel Angel Trevino, a former leader of the ultra-violent Los Zetas drug cartel.
The Northeast Cartel is a breakaway from the now-fragmented Los Zetas, which was founded by former elite soldiers.
Mexico has been trapped in a spiral of cartel-related violence since 2006 when the government launched a controversial anti-drug military operation.
There have been more than 340,000 murders since then, most of them blamed on fighting between criminals, according to official figures.
