Mexico judge rules arrest of alleged cartel boss was illegal

MEXICO CITY – A judge in Mexico has ruled that the arrest earlier this week of an alleged drug cartel boss in a city bordering Texas was illegal.

A statement from the Federal Judiciary Council says prosecutors had sought to have the Feb. 19 arrest declared legal, saying he was detained while speeding in an SUV in the northern city of Matamoros.

However his defense presented video recordings from security cameras at his house showing Marines arriving at the residence, entering and extracting the suspect.

A Tamaulipas state government official confirmed Wednesday that the person in question is alleged Gulf cartel leader Jose Alfredo Cardenas. The official was not authorized to discuss the case publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

It was not immediately clear whether he had been released.