Former Mexican defense minister arrested at Los Angeles airport on DEA warrant

Mexico’s former defense minister, Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos, was arrested Thursday at Los Angeles International Airport on a warrant from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

DEA Los Angeles Division spokesperson Nicole Nishida confirmed the arrest to Reuters but declined to provide any details.

Mexico’s foreign secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, said on Twitter that U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau informed him of Cienfuegos’s detention.

He sido informado por el Embajador Christopher Landau de los Estados Unidos que el ex Secretario de la Defensa Nacional, Gral. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda, ha sido detenido en el Aeropuerto de Los Angeles, California.

— Marcelo Ebrard C. (@m_ebrard) October 16, 2020

Cienfuegos, 72, served under former President Enrique Peña Nieto from 2012 to 2018. He was national defense secretary during an extended conflict between drug cartels and Mexico’s army.