CNN News
written by Mariano Castillo
Thursday December 17, 2009 7:26 p.m. EST
(CNN) -- The rapid thud-thud-thud of military choppers overhead on Wednesday was the first thing to catch the attention of the residents of Cuernavaca, a city south of Mexico City known as a retreat for city-dwellers and tourists alike.
The helicopters landed near Punta Vista Hermosa, a majestic resort where condos sell for millions of Mexican pesos, and before long, seemingly hundreds of military personnel were on its grounds.
A few hours later, a ferocious firefight broke out between the military and a cell of drug traffickers.
"Things like this rarely happen here," said Yadira Abigail Flores Delgado, who works at a nearby private security firm. "I could hear the shots and the helicopters. It was a very ugly incident."
The outcome, however, was sweet for the administration of President Felipe Calderon.
In a strong blow to one of Mexico's most notorious drug cartels, Mexico's navy killed Arturo Beltran Leyva, head of the Beltran Leyva cartel and one of Mexico's three most wanted criminals.
Six other cartel members and one naval petty officer also died in the raid. Three other people were arrested.
The end of Beltran Leyva's reign at the helm of the violent cartel was hailed by Mexico and the United States as a major victory for Calderon's offensive against the cartels, a war that has claimed more than 14,000 lives since 2006. More than 7,300 people have been killed in drug-related violence this year, according to a tally by Mexico's El Universal newspaper.
"This action represents a major achievement for the people and government of Mexico, and is a decisive blow against one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in Mexico," Calderon said, speaking from the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said that its cooperation with Mexico played a role in Wednesday's action.
"[Beltran Leyva's] death has dealt a crippling blow to one of the most violent cartels in the world, and it comes as a result of significant cooperation and information sharing between law enforcement in the United States and our courageous partners in Mexico," DEA Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart said in a written statement.
Violence could also flare from within the Beltran Leyva organization itself, as its lieutenants jockey for position in the inevitable reorganization.
Finally, rivals -- and maybe even allies -- of the cartel may fight for a piece of the organization's lucrative smuggling routes, Payan said.
Beltran Leyva and his organization rose in the Pacific state of Sinaloa, home to a powerful cartel of the same name.
Beltran Leyva and his brothers initially were allied with the Sinaloa cartel, headed by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. A series of disputes over the past years, however, led the Beltran Leyva brothers to turn on El Chapo, or "shorty," and they have been most recently linked with Los Zetas, another violent cartel opposed to the Sinaloa group.
The Beltran Leyva cartel is known for air transportation expertise, Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman Michael Sanders said.
An estimate from two years ago said the group smuggled 300 to 400 kilograms of cocaine monthly into the United States, Sanders said. The group is also known to smuggle black tar heroin.
Since taking office, Calderon has made fighting the drug cartels a priority. More than 40,000 troops have been deployed throughout the country to help small and often corrupt local forces.
But it was the navy that made one of the biggest busts in the war on drugs.
The reason may be because after years in the field, the army was not as reliable as a fresh force.
"Calderon has finally understood two things: that the army is susceptible to corruption, and that the army is not sufficient," Payan said.
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