TIJUANA, Mexico — A man accused of helping a Mexican drug kingpin dispose of hundreds of victims by dissolving their bodies in acid was arrested in the border city of Tijuana, authorities said Friday.
A Mexican military statement said Santiago Meza Lopez confessed to disposing of at least 300 bodies over a decade, but authorities provided no further evidence to back the claim. Officials contend he dumped the bodies in graves, poured acid on them and let them dissolve underground.
The victims are believed to be rivals of Teodoro Garcia Simental, an alleged former lieutenant of the Tijuana-based Arellano Felix drug cartel, authorities said.
Soldiers and police paraded Meza, 45, before reporters at a cement-block shack on the outskirts of Tijuana where he allegedly disposed of the bodies. Two grave-sized holes had been dug near the walls.
The security officers had Meza tell reporters how he allegedly got rid of the bodies, prodding him to speak up whenever he mumbled.
Meza, who has not yet been charged, was arrested along with three other people Thursday at a Tijuana hotel. He told reporters Friday that he got paid $600 a week for his work and repeated his claim that he had disposed of 300 bodies.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration identified Garcia as one of 10 men it believes are battling for drug trafficking routes through Tijuana. The DEA said Garcia is the chief rival of alleged Arellano Felix cartel leader Fernando Sanchez Arrellano.
Mexican officials have blamed the power struggle for a surge in violence in Tijuana, the birthplace of the Arellano Felix cartel. The two men split in April after a shootout between their followers in Tijuana left at least 14 people dead, Mexican and U.S. officials say.
The Arellano Felix cartel rose to power in 1980s. Since 2002, four brothers who led the cartel have been killed or arrested, most recently Eduardo Arellano Felix, who was captured in October in his Tijuana home.
Mexico's drug violence has surged and grown more gruesome in recent years, particularly in northern border cities Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez. Drug violence claimed more than 5,300 lives last year.
In one case last year, authorities said they found human teeth and other remains inside barrels of acid left on a Tijuana street. Officials did not say whether Meza was suspected of involvement in that case.
Also Friday, two human heads were found inside coolers near police stations in Celaya, a city in central Guanajuato state, said state deputy Attorney General Armando Amaro. Hours later, police found the bodies with their hands handcuffed.
A message was left with the heads threatening allies of a drug cartel knows as "La Familia," Amaro said. It was signed by Zetas, a group of hit men for the Gulf Cartel.
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