GANG LEADER SAYS US CONSULAR WORKERS DEATH A DRUG HIT

MEXICO CITY:
The murder of a US consulate worker in March was ordered by a drug cartel enforcer who believed the woman was dealing visas to a rival gang, say Mexican police, who have arrested a suspect for the killing.

Jesus Ernesto Chavez, a leader of a gang that supplies contract killers to the Juarez drug cartel, was arrested on charges that he masterminded the daylight ambush and murder of Lesley Ann Enriquez and her husband, Arthur Redelfs, an El Paso sheriff's deputy.

Ms Enriquez, who was four months pregnant, and Mr Redelfs were killed by a squad of commandos as they left a birthday party. The couple's uninjured seven-month-old daughter was found crying in the back seat of their car.

Mr Chavez told police that Ms Enriquez was targeted because she was providing visas to members of the rival Sinaloa drug cartel, the chief of the federal police anti-drug unit, Ramon Pequeno, told a news conference on Friday.

US officials confirmed Mr Chavez is a suspected leader of Barrio Azteca, a violent gang born in Texas prisons with members on both sides of the border.

''He is the real deal, and we are glad they got him,'' a federal anti-drug agent said.

US officials were uncertain whether Mr Chavez was telling the truth about Ms Enriquez dealing in visas. She worked in the American Citizens Services department, which helps US citizens renew passports, register foreign births and get help after running out of money or being robbed.