Mexico nabs drug kingpin wanted by US

Mexican authorities on Wednesday announced the capture of suspected drug kingpin Luis Rodriguez Olivera, a key Sinaloa cartel operative who had a ê5 million US bounty on his head.

Federal police nabbed Rodriguez Olivera, alias "El Guero," who was wanted for trafficking tons of cocaine into the United States from 1996 to 2008, on Tuesday at Mexico City's international airport.

The suspect was charged with "money laundering, and conspiracy to import, possess and distribute cocaine into the United States," according to the Public Security Ministry.

Rodriguez Olivera, 39, is wanted on federal charges in New York.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation described him as "the sole head of the Los Gueros" drug trafficking organization that he operated with his brothers and which Mexican authorities say is operating in concert with Sinaloa headed by drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Rodriguez Olivera "plays a vital role of cultivating and maintaining sources of supply which are based in both Colombia and Peru, as well as overseeing the daily operations which once fell under the control of his brother, Esteban," the FBI said on its website.

Esteban was arrested in Mexico in 2008 and remains in detention while awaiting extradition to the United States, while another brother died in August.

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