Lieutenant to top drug trafficker captured

? Mexico’s army on Monday captured a top lieutenant of the powerful Sinaloa cartel who allegedly commanded squads of hit men and organized drug shipments north, officials said.

Alfredo Beltran Leyva was arrested in the northwestern city of Culiacan in Sinaloa state, home to the cartel, with two suitcases containing $900,000, an assault rifle, a luxury SUV and 11 expensive watches, the army said.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza calling the arrest “a significant victory.”

“When Mexico takes dangerous criminals like Beltran Leyva and his crew off the streets, the people of the United States also benefit,” Garza wrote in a statement. “This arrest demonstrates once again the ongoing commitment of President Calderon and his administration to hit the criminal organizations where it hurts.”