CULIACAN, Mexico — Genetic testing has confirmed that a man killed in a shootout last week with marines was drug- cartel leader Arturo Beltran Leyva, the Mexican government said Sunday as a lavish but heavily guarded memorial service took place in this drug- plagued northern city.
Dozens of army troops stopped and checked vehicles in streets leading to a funeral home in Culiacan, the capital of northern Sinaloa state, where Beltran Leyva’s body was buried Sunday under the watchful eyes of army soldiers.
Comparisons of DNA samples taken from the dead kingpin and his imprisoned brother, Alfredo Beltran Leyva, show the two are related, the Attorney General’s Office said in a statement Sunday.
Enormous wreaths — some so large they had to be carried by several men while others didn’t fit inside the building — were delivered to the Funer aria Moreh, while soldiers watched from patrol vehicles stationed out front.
Beltran Leyva, nicknamed the “boss of bosses,” is the highest-ranking figure taken down in President Felipe Calderon’s 3-year-old drug war. U.S. and Mexican officials say Beltran Leyva’s gang carried out heinous killings, including numerous beheadings, and had success in buying off officials and police to protect his cartel.
