Mexican authorities capture U.S. citizen with suspected cartel links

By Sandra Dibble
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
7:01 p.m. July 10, 2009

Mexican authorities on Friday announced the capture of a U.S. citizen with suspected links to the Arellano Félix cartel.

Eduardo Morquecho Hernandez, 27, was arrested after soldiers, marines and municipal police officers raided a residence in a well-to-do Tijuana neighborhood, according to a military communique.

They seized 32 weapons, more than 2,500 rounds of ammunition and more than 1,500 pounds of marijuana. Also found was caustic soda, a substance used by drug gangs to dissolve the bodies of their victims.
Morquecho allegedly worked for the Arellano Félix drug cartel, currently headed by Fernando Sanchez Arellano.

Orange County court records show that Morquecho pleaded guilty in 2001 to assault with a deadly weapon, and in 2005 to a domestic battery charge. He is wanted in California on a parole violation stemming from the domestic battery charge, said Omar Castillo of the U.S. Marshals Office in San Diego.

Sandra Dibble: (619) 293-1716;

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