Eduardo Arellano is one of eight siblings in the infamous Arellano Felix family, which runs Mexico’s most powerful drug ring, the Tijuana cartel. Eduardo was said to be one of the bosses after several of his brothers were arrested or killed.

Just days before, Jesus Zambada Garcia, one of the leaders of the rival Sinaloa cartel, was arrested in the Mexican capital.

President Felipe Calderon declared war on organized crime and violence two years ago when he took office, sending tens of thousands of soldiers into the especially dangerous regions in the north, near the US, the main market for illicit drugs.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in bloody wars between the cartels and criminal gangs this year so far, many of them civilians caught in crossfire. In recent weeks, particularly gruesome group murders have been carried out in the northern towns.

Eduardo Arellano is believed to be one of the most sophisticated brothers and is thought to have taken control of the cartel, called the Tijuana Cartel or “Arellano Félix Organization”. He was wanted by Mexican and United States authorities in connection with the smuggling of several tons of marijuana and cocaine from Mexico into the U.S. each year.

He and his sister Enedina Arellano Félix became the leaders of the drug cartel after their brother Javier Arellano Félix was arrested by U.S. authorities on August 16, 2006; his other two brothers Ramon, believed to be the most ruthless member, was eventually killed, in a Mazatlan shootout with the Mexican Federal Police in February 2002. while his other brother Benjamin the mastermind was arrested in March 2002, leaving the leadership open to him and his sister Enedina Arellano Felix.

Eduardo was sought by Interpol in 180 countries, and the US State Department had been offering US$5,000,000 for information leading to his arrest. Eduardo Arellano was captured by the Mexican Federal Police after a shootout in Tijuana, Baja California, on October 26, 2008. According to a Mexican official, Enedina’s son, Luis Fernando Sánchez Arellano, has taken over the cartel’s operations.