WORLD IN BRIEF : COLOMBIA : Leader of Medellin Assassins Arrested

Colombian security police said they arrested the leader of the assassins of the Medellin cocaine cartel, striking a key blow in the country’s war on drugs. The Administrative Security Department (DAS) said it apprehended Humberto de Jesus Parra Salinas, believed to be the leader of up to 100 gangs of hired gunmen, in a house in Medellin, where Colombia’s most powerful cocaine cartel is situated. The police said they had also detained a Spanish citizen and head of a local security firm, who the DAS said was suspected of doing work for the cartel.