RULING ALLOWS DRUG SUSPECT'S EXTRADITION

Mexico extradited a drug-trafficking suspect to the United States on
Friday, the first such action under a landmark court ruling allowing the
country to send its citizens north to face prosecution.

Arturo Paez was arrested in Tijuana more than three years ago and held on a
U.S. extradition request. A federal indictment alleges he conspired to
distribute about 2,200 pounds of cocaine in the United States.

Paez is one of 14 Mexican suspects who have used court appeals to avoid
extradition for years. But in a January decision applying only to the
United States, the Supreme Court said Mexico has the "discretionary power"
to send citizens north to face justice, provided they are sentenced under
Mexican guidelines.