MONTERREY, Mexico – An alleged regional chief of the Gulf drug cartel who was arrested last weekend confessed his role in 21 murders and seven bombings, authorities in the state of Nuevo León in northern Mexico said on Feb. 9.

Yahir Pérez López was caught on Feb. 5 in Guadalupe, in the southwestern part of Mexico, after a fellow Gulf cartel member divulged his whereabouts, Nuevo León Security Council spokesman Jorge Domene said during a press conference.

Pérez López's involvement in the 21 killings included 10 Nuevo León law enforcement agents, Domene said. He also confessed ordering grenade attacks on police stations and a prison.

Nuevo León has suffered hundreds of deaths as the Gulf cartel and the Zetas gang battle for control.

[EFE (Mexico), 10/02/2011; El Porvenir (Mexico), 10/02/2011; El Universal (Mexico), 09/02/2011]