One of top leaders of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel killed in clash with soldiers

Top Mexican drug lord killed in military raid

MEXICO CITY — The Mexican army says one of the top three leaders of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartel has been killed in a clash with soldiers.

The death of Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel is the biggest strike yet against the Sinaloa cartel since President Felipe Calderon launched a military offensive against drug traffickers in late 2006.

The army says Coronel opened fire on soldiers and was killed Thursday.

Coronel was believed to be “the forerunner in producing massive amounts of methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories in Mexico, then smuggling it into the U.S.,” according to the FBI.