Juarez gang leader admits killings

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/WORLD/americas/11/29/mexico.violence/t1larg.gallegos.castrellon.afp.gi.jpg caption="Arturo Gallegos Castrellon makes an appearance at federal police headquarters in Mexico City on Sunday." width=300 height=169]

Mariano Castillo
CNN

(CNN) - An alleged gang member who police say was behind 80 percent of the killings in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, over the past 16 months was arrested over the weekend, officials said.

Police believe that Arturo Gallegos Castrellon, known as "El Farmero," was the leader of the Aztecas gang, a group closely linked with the Juarez cartel and its enforcement arm, La Linea.

Gallegos confessed to authorities that he ordered the killings of three people linked to the U.S. consulate in Juarez in March, as well as the attack on a party of young people that killed 14, federal police said.

The 32-year-old was arrested Saturday.

Full story