Mexico has captured a drug lord accused of handling half of the illegal drugs smuggled across the border into the United States and who had a $2 million price tag on his head, the government said on Monday. Gilberto Higuera Guerrero, captured early on Sunday in the northern city of Mexicali, was among Mexico's most wanted drug traffickers. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had offered up to $2 million for information leading to his arrest and wants him extradited to face charges in the United States. Attorney General Rafael Macedo said Higuera Guerrero was the main operator of a cocaine-smuggling gang led by Ismael "Mayo" Zambada in the border state of Baja California. "This man handled 50 percent of the drugs that crossed the border," Macedo said, adding that Higuera Guerrero also ran units of hired gunmen and ordered the killing of rival traffickers. "This man's fame is practically one of the legends of drug-trafficking," Macedo said. --MORE 2312 Local Time 2012 GMT
