Pubdate: Sun, 08 Apr 2001
Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)
Copyright: 2001 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.uniontrib.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/386
Author: Robert J. Caldwell
Note: Caldwell is editor of the Insight section.

EXTRADITING ALLEGED DRUG KINGPIN WOULD BE HISTORIC

Everardo Arturo Paez Martinez, alleged lieutenant in the Arellano Felix 
Organization, could well become the first Mexican drug kingpin extradited 
by the government of Mexico for trial in the United States.

The administration of former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo supported 
the U.S. extradition request for Paez and formally petitioned the Mexican 
Supreme Court to approve it. Zedillo's successor, President Vicente Fox, 
also is on record favoring extraditing Paez and other accused drug 
criminals wanted in the United States. Mexico's Supreme Court approved the 
Paez extradition in a 10-1 decision that found no constitutional objections.

All this marks a historic departure on two counts. First, Mexico, despite 
signing a U.S.-Mexico extradition treaty in 1978, traditionally resisted 
extraditing its citizens to the United States on constitutional grounds 
rooted in the country's fierce nationalism. Second, the wealth and 
influence of Mexico's powerful and intimidating drug cartels have in the 
past been sufficient to preclude extradition for major drug criminals who 
are Mexican citizens.

Thus, Paez's extradition would be both precedent shattering and precedent 
setting.

"The Paez case is the litmus test for the extradition of Mexican 
nationals," says Laura Duffy, the assistant United States attorney here who 
is handling the case.

Errol J. Chavez, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration's San Diego 
office, similarly describes Paez's extradition as vital. "It would be the 
first step taken by Mexico to show its cooperation on extradition, and it 
would scare them (the AFO) significantly."

William D. Gore, the FBI's special agent in charge of the bureau's San 
Diego office, emphatically agrees.

"(Paez's extradition) would be a gigantic demonstration of their sincere 
conviction to make a difference with the drug cartels in Mexico. That would 
send a message to them that, I think, would scare the hell out of them," 
Gore says.

"I think in the back of their minds they figure 'no matter what happens, I 
can maybe buy my way out of it in Mexico', but they realize that's not the 
case up here," Gore adds.

Paez seems an almost perfect test case for what may be a whole new legal 
partnership between Mexico and the United States in fighting international 
narcotics trafficking.

The official six-count U.S. indictment of Paez, issued by a federal grand 
jury in San Diego in 1997, charged Paez with conspiring to smuggle and 
distribute more than a ton of cocaine into the United States from 1988 
through 1996. U.S. officials say privately that the actual total during 
those eight years was about 20 tons of cocaine.

Clearly, Paez would qualify for anyone's definition of a drug kingpin. 
Paez's second value as symbol and test case is his alleged rank in the 
Arellano Felix Organization.

The profile sketched by federal prosecutors and investigators shows that 
"Kitti" Paez was no mere drug mule. The son of a wealthy and privileged 
Tijuana family, Paez joined the AFO as one of the so-called "narco juniors" 
and rose quickly in the cartel. His dazzling successes in moving cocaine 
into the United States plus his intelligence and personal charm elevated 
him to a leadership role. When U.S. pressure prompted his arrest in Tijuana 
in 1997, Paez was allegedly among the cartel's highest-ranking traffickers.

Then there is the strength of the U.S. Justice Department's abundantly 
documented case against Paez. "It's a rock-solid case," notes a DEA 
official familiar with its details.

Finally, a cooperating Paez in Justice Department hands could reveal a 
treasure trove of information on exactly how the Arellano Felix 
Organization conducted its criminal activities. That knowledge could 
include the identities of Mexican government and police officials who were 
on the cartel's huge bribery payroll, and a wealth of operational details 
about the criminal activities of Benjamin and Ramon Arellano Felix. Both 
are also under indictments issued by federal grand juries in San Diego.

Whether Paez's lawyers can succeed in raising new legal barriers to his 
extradition is uncertain. No doubt they are trying. One possible option 
would be citing Paez's potential life sentence in the United States, a 
penalty that might be construed as unacceptably harsh under provisions of 
the Mexican constitution. Waiving the life sentence option might be one way 
to finesse such an objection.

"This is a case where we can't afford to fail," says prosecutor Duffy.

Robert J. Caldwell
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