MEXICO CITY , Mexico ( CNN ) -- Mexican authorities said they have arrested the leader of a drug cartel that set off two grenades during a public celebration in September , killing eight people and wounding more than 100 . Cesar Duarte , president of the federal chamber of deputies , says he supports the government plan on narcotrafficking . Alberto Espinoza Barron , known as `` the Strawberry , '' heads the `` Michoacan Family , '' which operates in the Mexican states of Michoacan and Mexico , authorities said . Officials say the cartel set off the two grenades September 15 in the public plaza in Morelia , the capital of Michoacan . Espinoza Barron 's arrest Monday , which officials did not confirm until Tuesday , came just days after Mexican officials arrested an army major assigned to a guard unit protecting Mexican President Felipe Calderon . The army major , Arturo Gonzalez Rodriguez , was paid as much as $ 100,000 a month for passing information to a drug cartel , officials said after the officer 's arrest Friday . Espinoza Barron 's arrest by the military as part of its permanent presence in Michoacan came at a time when some are questioning the military 's role in the war against narcotics traffickers . `` I believe that we need to totally change our strategies since the results have been awful , '' said Juan Francisco Rivera of the Mexican Commission on National Security . `` It 's not me who is saying that , because the president himself has recognized it . I do n't believe the country is willing to keep committing errors . '' Others believe that the military , known by the acronym SEDENA , is the only institution capable of confronting organized crime . `` The participation by SEDENA is necessary because there is a threat and harm to national security , '' said Guillermo Velasco , member of an organization called Better Society , Better Government . `` It 's known that many of the successes have come from the work done by military intelligence and investigation . '' Amid this debate , the secretary for national defense recently proposed a 60-year prison term for any military member linked to organized crime . `` We believe the national defense secretary 's position is adequate , '' said Cesar Duarte , president of the federal chamber of deputies . `` We support him with respect to implementing major punishment for elements that are infiltrated or compromised with narcotrafficking . '' In many parts of the country , narcotraffickers constantly recruit low-level soldiers . The secretary of defense has said that in the past seven years about 100,000 soldiers have quit to join the drug cartels .
Morelia arrests Juan Francisco Rivera , known as ` the `` Michoacan Family He heads the `` Mexican Family , '' accused of setting grenades that killed eight . Some question military 's role in the war against narcotics traffickers .