Mexico City , Mexico ( CNN ) -- Four suspected drug cartel members have been arrested in connection with the slaying of a family in what authorities call an act of revenge for the death of a drug baron , a state attorney general said Wednesday . The shootings early Tuesday that led to the deaths of four family members of 3rd Petty Officer Melquisedet Angulo Cordova was an act of revenge carried out by Los Zetas , a drug cartel allied with the Beltran Leyva cartel , said Rafael Gonzalez Lastra , attorney general for the southern Mexican state of Tabasco . The suspects were arrested Tuesday night , he said . Cordova was killed in the December 16 shootout that resulted in the death of Arturo Beltran Leyva , nicknamed the `` boss of bosses , '' during a raid by a Mexican navy contingent at an upscale resort condo in Cuernavaca , Mexico . Angulo Cordova was hailed as a hero by President Felipe Calderon and laid to rest in his home state of Tabasco . Early Tuesday , gunmen entered the family 's home and opened fire , killing Angulo Cordova 's mother , sister and aunt . Angulo Cordova 's brother was injured in the shooting and later died in a hospital . The Zetas , the protection arm of the Gulf cartel that also operates as its own trafficking organization , carried out revenge killings because of an alliance between them and the Beltran Leyva group , Gonzalez Lastra said . Two of the arrested cartel members were responsible for the payments for the killings , and two acted as lookouts during the incident , he said . The suspects were identified as Julio Acosta Saucedo , Yesenia Hernandez Valencia , Azael Jesus Garcia Reyes and Julio Acosta Vargas . Gonzalez Lastra said authorities know the identities of the shooters as well as the vehicles used in the attack . Some local police officers were also involved , he said .
NEW : Two of the arrested were responsible for payout ; two acted as lookouts , official says . Four family members of 3rd Petty Officer Melquisedet Angulo Cordova were killed . Tabasco attorney general says slayings were an act of revenge carried out by Los Zetas . Cordova was killed in the shootout that resulted in the death of Arturo Beltran Leyva .