Marcos Arturo Beltrán Leyva, one of Mexico's top drug lords, was killed December 16 when Mexican soldiers attacked the exclusive apartment complex where he was staying in Cuernavaca.

Beltran, the boss of bosses, headed up the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel with his brothers, Marcos Arturo, Mario Alberto, Carlos, Alfredo and Hector. The cartel is a busy beaver with it's smuggling, cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine production. It is a violent organization having been involved in contract killing, gun running and the assassination of certain members of law enforcement.

The Cartel has been effective in controlling Mexican political climate. They have a knack for obtaining classified information from the police and political struggle. At one point they infiltrated the Interpol office in Mexico.

The attempt at arrest of the boss of bosses was bloody and raged for more than an hour. About 100 soldiers from the Mexican army attacked the security gated complex. One soldier was wounded, but several of the residents of the apartment were killed, including some of Beltran's children.

Cuernevaca is located South of Mexico City. However, the Cartel is responsible for violence along the US Mexico border. Many US residents think twice about their day visits to Mexican border towns for fear of being caught in the crossfire between warring drug gangs. Until Mexico takes a firmer hand in stopping the corruption and fighting drug lords, a fortune in tourist dollars will remain in the US instead of being spent in Mexcio.