Pubdate: Sun, 10 Mar 2002
Source: Houston Chronicle (TX)
Webpage: www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/world/1289315
Copyright: 2002 Houston Chronicle Publishing Company Division, Hearst Newspaper
Contact:  http://www.chron.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/198
Author: John Rice

DRUG LORD CAPTURED IN MEXICO RAID

Cartel Called 'Completely Dismantled'

MEXICO CITY -- Soldiers raiding a house in central Mexico early 
Saturday captured the alleged leader of a drug cartel accused of 
spreading terror across much of the country. They also found evidence 
that his brother, the gang's alleged co-leader, was dead.

With the arrest of Benjamin Arellano Felix and the death of his 
brother Ramon, "the cartel of the Arellanos has been completely 
dismantled," Attorney General Ramon Macedo de la Concha told a news 
conference.

"It seems that this is a great triumph for justice," President 
Vicente Fox said Saturday as he congratulated the army and the 
Justice Department.

U.S. and Mexican authorities say the brothers smuggled tons of 
cocaine, amphetamines and marijuana into the United States, murdering 
hundreds of people -- ranging from farmers to police to a Roman 
Catholic cardinal -- to crush threats.

"We've been seeking his apprehension for years," U.S. Drug 
Enforcement Administrator Asa Hutchinson said Saturday of Benjamin 
Arellano Felix. "It was our top priority."

Still, the breakup of other major gangs in the past has had little or 
no long-term effect on the flow of illegal drugs into the United 
States.

"Tomorrow there will be another substituting for them for one simple 
reason: While there is consumption, demand in the United States, 
there will be drug trafficking in Mexico," said Tijuana journalist 
Jesus Blancornelas, who survived an assassination attempt by the 
gang, in an interview with Mexico's Formato 21 radio station.

Benjamin Arellano Felix was captured without gunfire at about 1 a.m. 
as police raided a two-story house in an upper-middle class 
neighborhood of Puebla, a city 65 miles east of Mexico City, Mexican 
Defense Secretary Ricardo Clemente Vega Garcia announced at a news 
conference.

He said an altar to Ramon Arellano Felix was found in the house, 
suggesting he was killed a Feb. 10 police shootout in Mazatlan. Ramon 
Arellano Felix is on the FBI's 10 most wanted list with a $2 million 
reward for his capture.

Officials released a videotape of Benjamin confirming his brother's 
death, and Macedo said other new evidence confirmed it, though the 
joint statement issued at the news conference merely called the death 
a "presumption."

Mexican and U.S. officials have been awaiting the result of DNA and 
other tests before formally declaring Ramon Arellano Felix dead.

The body of the man, identified as Jorge Perez Lopez, was retrieved 
from a funeral home a day after the shooting by a man claiming to be 
his cousin.

Neighbors said Benjamin Arellano Felix had been living quietly since 
August on the small, gated street.

A few local reporters managed to visit the yellow house with a 
red-tile roof early Saturday, finding a few packed suitcases left 
behind. But increasingly nervous neighbors ordered the private 
security guard to close off the street by midday.

Prosecutors say the Arellano Felix group rose from remnants of the 
Guadalajara-based Pacific Cartel run by Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo 
until his arrest in 1989.

They quickly seized control of operations in Tijuana and waged a 
bloody war of extermination against former colleagues in the Pacific 
Cartel while paying millions of dollars in bribes each year.

Benjamin, who is to turn 50 on Tuesday, allegedly handled finances 
and strategy while Ramon, 37, allegedly oversaw a murderous security 
and enforcement operation.

Victims included farmers and drug rivals, policemen and innocent 
bystanders -- including Roman Catholic Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas 
Ocampo.

One DEA report said the gang was believed to have killed at least 300 people.

Posadas was shot to death in a fusillade of bullets at the 
Guadalajara airport in 1993. Prosecutors say gang members confused 
his car with that of their target, rival drug gang leader Joaquin 
Guzman Loera.

In 1996, gunmen shot a state prosecutor more than 100 times outside 
his home and then drove their van over his body dozens of times.

Several other siblings also are alleged to have roles in the gang. 
They include Francisco Javier, 32; Eduardo, 46; and Francisco Rafael, 
52, who is imprisoned on drug and arms charges as well as for 
complicity in the slaying of Posadas.

Vega said Benjamin Arellano Felix had been taken to "a safe location" 
in Mexico City. His wife and a child were found at the house and were 
not arrested.

Vega said Arellano had been using the alias of "Licenciado Sanchez." 
Licenciado is a common honorific here, referring to a person's 
professional degree, Vega said.

Also captured was Manuel Martinez Gonzalez, who Mexican officials 
said was an aide to the brothers involved in laundering drug money 
and protecting the gang leaders.

On Friday, U.S. officials announced the arrest of 22 people in 
Denver, San Diego and the Minneapolis area believed linked to the 
Arellano Felix group. Charges included conspiracy to distribute and 
possess cocaine.
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