MEXICO CITY – Mexican federal police Friday captured Gulf drug cartel member Jaime Gonzalez, one of the country's most-wanted men, after a shoot out near the U.S.-Mexico border, police said.

Gonzalez, known as "The Hummer," and indicted in the United States
last year for cocaine smuggling, was caught in the city of Reynosa
close to McAllen, Texas.

Gunmen tried to rescue him as troops drove to Reynosa airport to fly
him to Mexico City, setting off a fierce gun battle. Police fought
off the escape attempt and transferred Gonzalez to the capital under
heavily-armed guard.

Gonzalez is a member of the Gulf cartel's armed wing known as the
Zetas and is believed to be close to the group's leader Heriberto "The Executioner" Lazcano.

The cartel, based in eastern Mexico, has strong links with Colombian
cocaine gangs and buys and packages its drugs in Guatemala before
bringing them through Mexico into Texas.

The capture follows the arrest last month of Tijuana cartel leader
Eduardo Arellano Felix, one of the international traffickers most
sought by the United States.

The arrest is unlikely to significantly weaken the Gulf cartel but it
may yield crucial intelligence about the powerful gang, known for its
brutality against rivals.