Arrest in Tamaulipas Case

Salvadoran authorities arrested Carlos Ernesto Teos Parada, a man allegedly responsible for leading a human smuggling ring. Several of his smuggled migrants were among the seventy-two migrants murdered by Los Zetas in August 2010.

Carlos Ernesto Teos Parada, along with two others detained in December, allegedly arranged trips to the U.S. for at least six of the 14 Salvadorans who died in the attack blamed on Mexico’s Zetas cartel, said Attorney General Romeo Barahona said.

Authorities said victim interviews and documents linked Teos Parada and Salvadorans Francis Erick Escobar and Jose Raul Alegria to the ring, which charged migrants $6,000 each for trips to the U.S.

The group allegedly communicated with similar smuggling operations in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico and the United States, said Howard Cotto, subdirector of investigations for the national police.

Teos Parada was captured in the state of Usulutan 75 miles (120 kilometres) east of the capital, carrying a credential identifying him as an official with the San Salvador-based professional soccer team Atletico Marte.

Club officials told The Associated Press, "he was only a collaborator who helped transport the reserve team."