A top drug cartel suspect who turned state’s evidence has been found dead in an apparent suicide, while a body found in Guerrero state was identified as a rebel leader who accused the state governor of drug ties, Mexican law enforcement said Saturday.

Jesus Zambada Reyes, identified as the nephew of drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada was considered one of the top operators of the Sinaloa drug cartel when he was arrested in October 2008 and is accused of smuggling cocaine and methamphetamines through the Mexico City airport.

Jesus Zambada Reyes, identified as the nephew of drug lord Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, was found dead of asphyxiation at a house in Mexico City, the attorney general’s office said in a statement.

• He was found hung with a shoelace Friday.

Zambada Reyes was a “cooperating witness,” the statement said, but it did not specify if he was being held in custody or under a witness-protection program. Prosecutors say they will continue investigating the death.