Mexico sentences cardinal killer

A former police commander in Mexico has been jailed for 40 years for the 1993 murder of a Roman Catholic cardinal at Guadalajara airport, officials say.

Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo and six others died in the attack at the airport parking lot in the city, 450km (280 miles) north-west of the capital.

Investigators said Humberto Rodriguez Banuelos was part of a gang working for the Tijuana drugs cartel, AP reports.

The gang mistook the cardinal's car for that of a rival trafficker, they said.

Plastic surgery

Rodriguez, alias the Frog, has been accused of working as the top killer for the violent Arellano Felix cartel, based in Tijuana.

He was arrested in 2001 for allegedly taking part in a shootout in the border city.

Police could not confirm his identity for a few months because he had undergone cosmetic surgery on his face, lost 40kg by liposuction and had hair implants.

Rodriguez was also implicated in many other crimes in Jalisco state from 1992 to 1995, according to local newspaper El Informador.

Twelve people have been convicted over the attack on Cardinal Posadas.

Church officials have long disputed the official version of events.

They say the cardinal may have been killed because he knew about alleged relationships between drug traffickers and politicians.