MEXICO CITY, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Mexican soldiers have captured a suspected Gulf cartel kingpin accused of trafficking drugs, kidnapping and extortion in southern Mexico, the attorney general's office said on Sunday.

Alberto Sanchez, also known by the nicknames Commander Castillo and Tony and who is close to Gulf cartel leaders, was arrested in Tabasco state capital Villahermosa on Friday, the same day soldiers captured a corrupt local police director.

The Gulf cartel is based across the border from Texas and controls drug smuggling in seven states along the Gulf of Mexico from southern Mexico into Texas.

The arrest came as President Felipe Calderon faces intense pressure to cut spiraling drug violence that has killed more than 2,700 people nationwide this year, a faster rate than in 2007.

Mexico's most-wanted man, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, from the Pacific-based Sinaloa cartel, is vying with rivals like the Gulf cartel for control of the country's lucrative drug trade to the United States.

Calderon has made crushing drug gangs the main goal so far of his six-year term, deploying 45,000 troops across Mexico.

But drug violence has spiraled as rival gangs fight each other and the army. Endemic police corruption has further complicated efforts to rid Mexico of cartels. (Reporting by Anahi Rama, editing by Vicki Allen)

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