PACHUCA, MEXICO (BNO NEWS) -- Mexican authorities on Tuesday announced the arrest of a 19-year-old man suspected of being a local leader for the "Los Zetas" drug cartel, Milenio Television reported.

Eder Daniel Escorsa Cabadas, 19, also known as "El Eder," was arrested along 12 more individuals suspected of participating in drug trafficking and assassinations in Hidalgo state, central Mexico.

Hidalgo state police chief Damian Canales informed that the 19-year-old individual is suspected of being involved in at least five murders in the state capital city of Pachuca during the last four months.

According to Hidalgo police, Escorsa Cabadas was the leader of the Zetas cell in Pachuca. The other 12 individuals were alleged members of his group and served as drug traffickers, hitmen and commanders.

Furthermore, authorities claimed that the Zetas cell perpetrated the April 28 attack on a state security facility in the neighboring Tula de Allende city while in Pachuca, Damian Canales ordered the murders of a rival drug trafficking gang known as "chapulines."

The other detainees were identified as Ariel Fernando Cabrera; Jorge David Ojeda; Antonio Zavala; Antonio Lara; Saul Eduardo Moreno; Rubén Lopez Tenorio; Ubaldo Negrete Duran; Miguel Angel de Jesus Nieto; as well as one woman.

Los Zetas drug cartel was founded by deserters from the Mexican Army Special Forces as well as Guatemalan soldiers. It began as the enforcer gang for the Gulf Cartel specialized in brutal assassinations, including beheadings and mutilations.

The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) considers them responsible for much of the escalation of violence along its Southwest Border. It is known for its use of extreme violence on law enforcement officials, innocent citizens, informants, and rival drug gangs.

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