MEXICO CITY – Mexican police say they have captured a Colombian cartel operative who served as a liaison to a Mexican drug gang.

Police say Ever Villafane Martinez represented Colombia's Norte del Valle drug cartel in dealings with Mexico's Beltran Leyva gang.

Assistant Secretary of Public Safety Facundo Rosas said Thursday that Villafane Martinez was detained on Wednesday, and that police found an assault rifle in his truck.

Rosas says the suspect is also known as Marco Antonio Espinoza Tovali. He is wanted on drug charges in the United States, and escaped from a Colombian prison in 2001.

Police say he is related by marriage to Norte del Valle leader Diego Leon Montoya.

Mexican cartels smuggle Colombian cocaine into the United States.