US arrests son of Mexican cartel boss

Los Angeles (AFP) - The son of a leader of Mexico's feared Sinaloa cartel has been arrested in the United States for drug trafficking, prosecutors said Friday.

Serafin Zambada-Ortiz, 23, was detained after being stopped Wednesday as he tried to enter America at Arizona's Nogales border crossing, said the US Attorney's Office for southern California.

He appeared in court Thursday, and is due back before a judge on Monday in Tucson, said spokeswoman Kelly Thornton. Zambada-Ortiz is the son of Sinaloa cartel leader Ismael Zambada-Garcia, also known as Mayo.

He was charged in September with having organized the trafficking of at least 500 grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine and at least five kilos of cocaine, according to the indictment.

His wife Karime Ellameli Torres-Acosta -- the daughter of another deceased drug baron, Manuel Torres-Felix -- was also arrested and taken into custody, but then released.

A US citizen, Zambada-Ortiz was born in San Diego. The Attorney's Office for southern California will request his transfer from Arizona to San Diego, although no date has yet been agreed.

The main leader of the Sinaloa cartel, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, escaped from a Mexican prison in 2001. He is now America's most wanted drug trafficker, as well as being considered by Forbes as the most powerful criminal on the planet.

More than 77,000 people have been killed in Mexico in connection with organized crime since now former president Felipe Calderon launched a nationwide war against the drug cartels after taking office in 2006.