Alleged drug boss will be sent to U.S.

Mexican authorities said they had captured a U.S. citizen believed to be a top member of a major drug cartel and that they would send him back to the United States immediately.

Gustavo Rivera Martinez, 46, allegedly part of the Tijuana-based Arellano Felix cartel, will be turned over to the U.S. government, which wants him on drug charges, Interior Secretary Juan Camilo Mourino said at a news conference.

Rivera Martinez took over the cartel’s operation after the 2006 arrest of Francisco Javier Arellano Felix, said federal Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna.

Officials said Rivera Martinez was captured Tuesday in the state of Baja California Sur along with three others. The U.S. had offered a $2-million reward for his capture.