Pubdate: Sat, 08 Sep 2001 Source: Los Angeles Times (CA) Copyright: 2001 Los Angeles Times Contact: http://www.latimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248 Author: Will Weissert, Associated Press Writer MEXICO ANNOUNCES DRUG LORD CAPTURE MEXICO CITY -- Mexican authorities say they have captured a drug lord wanted on charges he and his brother had a tunnel built under the border to smuggle drugs into the United States. The arrest on Friday of Arturo Guzman opens the door for his possible extradition to stand trial in the United States, Attorney General Rafael Macedo said at a hastily arranged news conference late Friday. Macedo said Guzman, one of 12 notorious Mexican drug suspects U.S. authorities want to extradite, was captured in a Mexico City safe house. He did not provide further details of the arrest. Authorities were optimistic his capture will lead them to his brother, Joaquin Guzman, whose escape from one of Mexico's most secure prisons badly embarrassed the government of President Vicente Fox. Arturo Guzman, also known as "The Chicken", is accused of drug and weapons trafficking in Mexico and is wanted on U.S. charges he and his brother supervised the building of a tunnel 1,416 feet long and 65 feet deep beneath the border to smuggle drugs into the United States. Macedo said Arturo Guzman took control of a powerful drug syndicate headquartered in eastern Sinaloa state after his brother went to prison. He used his post to coordinate Joaquin's life on the run in the seven months since the jailbreak, Macedo said. The 43-year-old Joaquin Guzman had been serving more than 20 years for criminal association and bribery and was also involved in a 1993 shootout in which a Roman Catholic cardinal was killed in crossfire. He sent shock waves through Mexico's criminal justice system when he slipped out of maximum security Puente Grande prison in western Jalisco state Jan. 19. "We are close to an arrest," Macedo said. "(Joaquin Guzman) is the last and most important member of the gang." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth