MONTERREY, Nuevo Leon — Mexican authorities arrested a leading Gulf Cartel commander tied to several local kidnappings and gun battles.

Recently, Nuevo Leon state authorities arrested Hector Adrian Lucio Benavides aka “La Yegua” or “the Mare” along with his assistant, Christian Aaron “El Chalan” Hernandez Cabriales. Lucio Benavides is described by authorities as a key Gulf Cartel operator. The arrest was carried out by members of Nuevo Leon’s State Investigations Agency (AEI) with the help of federal police in the Cumbres Elite neighborhood in Monterrey. The case is part of an ongoing joint investigation including federal authorities, Nuevo Leon’s AEI, and the Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office.

According to public statements made by the head of Mexico’s National Security Renato Heredia Sales, La Yegua is considered a leading figure for the Gulf Cartel in the theft of fuel, extortion, and kidnapping in Nuevo Leon, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosi, and Veracruz. La Yegua’s assistant is described as being in charge of the logistics for kidnappings and the movement of drugs to the border. After the arrest, La Yegua was moved to Tampico, Tamaulipas, where he remains at the state prison on kidnapping charges.

As Breitbart Texas reported, La Yegua was linked to a failed kidnapping in the Guadalupe suburb of Monterrey, which escalated into a large-scale gun battle. La Yegua sent a team of approximately 15 men to kidnap a businessman believed tied to organized crime as he was eating at a restaurant. The grab failed when the gunmen opened fire on passing police, triggering a call for official backup. After a full-scale shootout, state police managed to arrest 13 of the cartel men–but a judge later released them.

Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by Tony Aranda from Nuevo León.