MONTERREY, Mexico (AP) -- A man suspected of participating in the rapes and killings of at least 10 women in a border city made infamous by the deaths of more than 100 young women since 1993 has been arrested, U.S. officials said Thursday.
U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza called Tuesday's arrest of Edgar Alvarez Cruz on immigration violations in Denver "a major break" in the investigation into the unsolved deaths in Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas.
"We believe Alvarez Cruz's arrest will help U.S. and Mexican law enforcement authorities solve numerous cases involving the murders and disappearances of women in Ciudad Juarez and in Chihuahua and ultimately bring their killers to justice," Garza said.
Garza said the U.S. Marshals Service was assisting Mexican authorities with the investigations into the killings of the women in Ciudad Juarez and other parts of the border state of Chihuahua.
Most of the victims were dumped in the desert outside of Ciudad Juarez, provoking outrage that reached around the world. Many of the victims were young women last seen in the city's downtown or after taking buses. Their bodies often didn't appear until months later.
Attorney General Daniel Cabeza de Vaca told reporters Alvarez Cruz had been under investigation but fled the country.
"We don't know exactly how many homicides he may have been responsible for, but there is solid evidence in several cases we know of," Cabeza de Vaca said.
The U.S. Embassy said Alvarez Cruz may have been involved in the killings as part of a gang.
Just last month, federal officials in Mexico closed a three-year inquiry into the rape-strangulation of 14 women and teenagers in Juarez. (Full story)
Police did arrest several people in the killings, including an Egyptian chemist who died in prison earlier this year; a bus driver whose conviction was overturned; and his co-defendant who died in prison before sentencing. A number of gang members are serving out sentences related to some of the crimes.
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Glad to see this scumbag off the streets.