A Guatemalan man suspected of being a boss of Mexico's Zetas drug cartel was captured by police Monday in northern Guatemala, Government Minister Mauricio Lopez Bonilla said.

Wilmer Arnulfo Cabrera Franco was arrested in San Pedro Carcha, a town in the northern province of Alta Verapaz, Lopez said.

Cabrera is from Teculutan, a city in the eastern province of Zacapa, Lopez said.

"He was arrested as he was leaving a residence he frequently visited in San Pedro Carcha and will transported to the capital by air in the next few hours," the minister said.

Cabrera was involved in drug trafficking in Las Verapaces and Ixcan in the northwestern province of Quiche, Lopez said.

"We have struck a really hard blow with this capture," Lopez said, adding that the security forces spent several months trying to track down the drug trafficker.

Cabrera faces murder, criminal conspiracy, drug and assault charges, Lopez, who is responsible for internal security in Guatemala, said.

Investigators plan to search the house where Cabrera was arrested because they suspect firearms may be at the property, Lopez said.

Cabrera was in charge of "one of the last groups that had membership in Los Zetas in Guatemala," Lopez said.

The Mexican drug cartel, which entered Guatemala around 2008, "is weakened and just has a few remnants," Lopez said. EFE