UNDER NEW LAW, MEXICO EXTRADITES SUSPECT TO U.S.

MEXICO CITY, May 4 - Mexico extradited an alleged member of the
Arellano Felix drug cartel to the United States today, the first such
action under a landmark Mexican Supreme Court decision reached on
Jan. 18 which cleared the final hurdles for Mexico to extradite its
own citizens.

Arturo "Kitty" Paez - one of 14 Mexican suspects who have used court
appeals to avoid extradition for years - is the first to be shipped
north under the ruling.

"The extradition of this lieutenant of the Arellano Felix
organization is a very positive event," the American Embassy in
Mexico City said in a statement. "This sends a very strong signal to
drug traffickers."

Arrested in Tijuana in November, 1997, Mr. Paez was held on an
American extradition request based on a federal indictment alleging
that he conspired to distribute about 2,200 pounds of cocaine in the
United States.

Like the 13 other suspects, he avoided extradition between 1997 and
2001 by filing appeals based on a criminal code provision that says
Mexican citizens must be sentenced under Mexican laws.

But in its unanimous ruling in January, which applies only to the
United States, the Supreme Court said Mexico has the "discretionary
power" to send citizens north to face charges, provided they are
sentenced under Mexican guidelines.

Since Mexico does not have a death penalty, the ruling apparently
means that no suspect extradited to the United States may be executed.

Mr. Paez was allegedly a second-tier operator in the Tijuana-based
Arellano Felix gang, considered perhaps Mexico's most violent drug
cartel.

"This is an important step forward in our bilateral efforts to
demonstrate that impunity will no longer be tolerated," the embassy
statement said.