The Zetas drug cartel in Mexico has released a local member of the hackers group Anonymous following threats by the latter to expose the identities of the criminal gang's accomplices in the government.

The unidentified hacker, who was kidnapped by the Zetas in the eastern Mexican port of Veracruz, was freed before the Nov. 5 deadline set by Anonymous, the Mexican TV station Televisa reported Wednesday. An Anonymous member using the nickname @anohispano announced the release of the kidnapped hacker on Twitter.

Mexican authorities, who have no verification of the kidnapping, had no comment.

The Anonymous in Mexico announced on a YouTube video last month its demand that Zetas release the kidnapped member warning that failing to do so will force hackers to reveal online the names of "taxi drivers, journalists and police officers" serving the violent drug trafficking group known for displaying the bodies of its executed victims in public.

In the "Anonymous Veracruz" video, which the U.S. security consultancy Stratfor released, according to Courier Mail, a hacker wearing the mask of Guy Fawkes, spoke in Spanish threatening retaliation against the Zetas if the kidnapped hacker is not released.

Stratfor warned on Oct. 28 that "loss of life will be a certain consequence if Anonymous releases the identities of individuals cooperating with cartels," according to the blog "eats shoots n' leaves by Richard Brenneman citing a report from The Guardians.

Stratfor said the drug trafficking gang had hired security experts to track down the hackers and kidnap, hurt or kill them.
The Guardians report also said that some Anonymous members disagree with the plan to expose collaborators of the Zetas while others claim that the kidnapping was a hoax.

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