( CNN ) -- Mexico 's war against the drug cartels is frustrated by a risk-averse army and interagency rivalries , according to U.S. diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks . But amid some downbeat assessments of the challenges faced by President Felipe Calderon , some of the cables celebrate outstanding successes against the cartel `` capos . '' One such success came almost exactly a year ago , when a Mexican naval unit killed one of Mexico 's leading cartel figures , Arturo Beltran Leyva -- with plenty of assistance from the United States . `` The arrest operation targeting ABL began about a week prior to his death when the Embassy relayed detailed information on his location to SEMAR [ Mexican Navy ] , '' according to a cable sent soon after the operation . The naval unit `` raided an identified location , where they killed several ABL bodyguards and arrested over 23 associates , while ABL and Hector [ his brother ] escaped . '' But time was running out for Beltran Leyva ( also known as El Fantasma and El Elegante ) , thanks to U.S. surveillance . The cable continues : `` the Embassy interagency linked ABL to an apartment building located in Cuernavaca ( about an hour south of Mexico City ) , where ABL was in hiding ... . ABL 's forces fired on the SEMAR operatives and engaged in a sustained firefight that wounded three SEMAR marines and possibly killed one . '' Besides Beltran Leyva , at least three other cartel operatives were killed during the Dec. 16 , 2009 , raid , with a fourth committing suicide . The success of the operation was especially pleasing to the United States because its military had spent years training Mexican naval units . Some might question why the navy was involved in a land operation . This and other cables provide the answer : The army had declined to act quickly on information about Beltran Leyva 's whereabouts and is described as `` risk averse . '' After the Beltran Leyva operation , there was glowing praise from U.S. diplomats for Mexican navy units . `` SEMAR is well-trained , well-equipped , and has shown itself capable of responding quickly to actionable intelligence , '' a cable read . `` Success puts the Army in the difficult position of explaining why it has been reluctant to act on good intelligence and conduct operations against high-level targets . '' There is no euphoria about Beltran Leyva 's demise , but the embassy hopes it will mark a new beginning . `` His death will not solve Mexico 's drug problem , but it will hopefully generate the momentum necessary to make sustained progress against other drug trafficking organizations . '' Since Beltran Leyva 's death , Mexican security forces have scored some significant successes in arresting or killing leading cartel members , and often SEMAR units have been in the vanguard . Last month the Navy Ministry confirmed its forces shot and killed Ezequiel Cardenas Guillen , alias `` Tony Tormenta , '' one of the top members of the Gulf cartel . And , in January this year , there seemed to be optimism that some of the institutional challenges were at last being tackled . `` A truly joint effort to implement a new U.S.-Mexico strategy is yielding stronger organizational structures and interagency cooperation on both sides and a deeper understanding of the threat posed by the drug trafficking organizations , '' reads one cable . The same cable noted that the Mexican Army [ SEDENA ] had for the first time asked the United States for special forces training . `` We need to capitalize on these cracks in the door . Any retreat on engagement on our side will only reinforce SEDENA 's instincts to revert to a closed and unaccountable institution . ''
Diplomatic cables spell out successes against Mexican cartels . Americans praise actions of Mexican naval units . Mexicans celebrate the success in their war on drugs and say they are now free to do what they want with their own country.