We previously reported on the murder of several U.S. consular staff and their families in Ciudad Juarez, which occurred on March 13, 2010. The Globe and Mail has now reported that Mexican soldiers have arrested a gang member suspected in the killings of three people linked to the U.S. consulate in Ciudad Juarez.

Police spokesman Enrique Torres said the suspect arrested on Friday was a member of the Barrio Azteca gang, which authorities say works for the Juarez drug cartel on both sides of the border. Torres did not release the man’s name, but a Chihuahua state investigator who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the case identified the suspect as Ricardo Valles de la Rosa, 45.

Consulate employee Lesley A. Enriquez and her husband, Arthur H. Redelfs, were killed March 13 in Juarez when gunmen opened fire on their sport utility vehicle after they left a birthday party. Their 7-month-old daughter was found wailing in the back of the vehicle. Jorge Alberto Salcido, the husband of a Mexican employee of the consulate, also was killed by gunmen after leaving the same event in a separate vehicle.

Torres said the suspect is a leader of the Barrio Azteca gang, but gave no other details. He said the suspect would be presented to the media later Monday. U.S. and Mexican authorities say the Barrio Azteca gang works for the Juarez drug cartel and operates on both sides of the border.

Initially a Texas prison gang, Barrio Azteca expanded across the Rio Grande into Juarez in the late 1990s, U.S. authorities have said. Last week, El Paso police and Texas state troopers arrested 25 people in a sweep of suspected gang members.

Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas, is one of the world’s deadliest places. More than 2,600 people were killed last year, and another 500 so far this year in the city of 1.3 million.

Drug-related violence in Mexico has claimed 17,900 lives since President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug gangs in December 2006. Powerful drug cartels have been battling not only authorities but each other for turf and drug routes.

The Globe and Mail article appears here.