Mexico gang leader sentenced to 60 years in prison

MEXICO CITY (AP) — State authorities say the leader of a crime gang notorious for siphoning gasoline from government fuel pipelines has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for kidnapping. José Antonio Yépez Ortiz had been one of Mexico’s most wanted suspects prior to his arrest on Aug. 2, 2020, following a shootout with police. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador praised the arrest at the time as “very important.” The gang had long fought a bloody turf battle with the Jalisco cartel, and authorities blamed him for much of the violence in the industrial and farming state of Guanajuato.