Army captures U.S. teen hitman in Mexico
Mexican soldiers captured a 14-year-old U.S. citizen suspected of being a drug gang hitman as he attempted to travel to the United States.
Edgar Jimenez, known as “El Ponchis,” worked for the South Pacific drug cartel in Morelos state, outside Mexico City, the army said Friday.
The boy was caught late Thursday as he boarded a plane in the city of Cuernavaca in Morelos. He was travelling to the border city of Tijuana across from San Diego, California, with two of his sisters, one of whom is believed to be the lover of one of the cartel’s bosses, the army said.
The three Jimenez siblings reportedly had wanted to cross to San Diego, where they have relatives.
“El Ponchis” made headlines last month as reports of his grisly murders, including beheadings, surfaced. He acknowledged having killed at least seven people and the influence of drugs provided by a cartel leader, according to the army statement. It was not immediately clear what his nickname refers to.