Gunmen working for a cartel shoot an American man in Mexico

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Authorities in northern Mexico say gunmen apparently work for a drug cartel murdered an American man and that one of the alleged killers was a deserter from Honduras’ presidential guard.

Arizona resident Nicholas Quets was shot dead on October 18 near a gas station between the towns of Altar and Caborca, in the border state of Sonora. Local media reported that Quets was traveling to the resort of Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point, at the time of the attack.

Local media reported that Quets’ vehicle may have passed through a cartel checkpoint shortly before the murder.

Prosecutors in the northern state of Sonora said late Tuesday that the Honduran suspect and an companion had been “neutralized” in the town of Altar after opening fire on security forces. Neutralized is a term used in Mexican law enforcement to mean killed.

They said the Honduran suspect — who like the others was not identified by his full name — had an outstanding desertion order from Honduras’ presidential honor guard. Drug cartels in Mexico recruit often former military members from Central and South America.

Prosecutors said they had also arrested two other suspects in Quets’ murder. One was identified as a ‘Delta’, a gang working for the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa drug cartel.

He and another suspect are being held for investigation on weapons and drug charges.