Jose Manuel Nuñes Santiago and Ambrosio Salgado Brito, members of Mexico's Secretariat of National Defense, were arrested last week for allegedly attempting to sell 14 firearms to the Los Zetas cartel for $5,000. Photo courtesy of Secretariat of National Defense

Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Mexico's Secretariat of National Defense said it arrested two lieutenants who attempted to sell 11 AK-47s and three AR-15s to members of the Los Zetas cartel for about $5,000.

The men arrested in the Tamaulipas state last week were officially identified as José Manuel "N" and Ambrosio "N." The detained lieutenants said the weapons were being transported to the Xicoténcatl municipality, where Francisco "Pancho" Carreón, a Los Zetas unit leader, was going to pick them up, officials said.


The men are identified by Nuevo Laredo en Vivo as Jose Manuel Nuñes Santiago and Ambrosio Salgado Brito, who were arrested after an inspection was carried out because they appeared nervous.

A member of Mexico's National Security Cabinet told Milenio on Sunday the lieutenants will be punished accordingly. The lieutenants were delivered to the Attorney General's Office and will be prosecuted under Mexico's military justice system.

Los Zetas is a vast criminal enterprise involved in drug, firearms and sex trafficking based in Nuevo Laredo, a town bordering the United States in Tamaulipas. The cartel is a rival of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel.