RISING STAR IN MEXICO COCAINE TRADE KILLED - REPORT

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A man allegedly trying to become the godfather
of the Mexican drugs trade was gunned down Thursday in the northern
border city of Ciudad Juarez, state news agency Notimex reported
Friday. Rafael Munoz Talavera, described by the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration as an emerging drug kingpin, was found stuffed in an
armored pick-up truck in a suburb of the city, which has been hit hard
by drug violence recently, the news agency said. Hugo Chavez, a
spokesman for the state attorney general's office in northern
Chihuahua state, said residents in the Juarez suburb of El Colegio
reported an abandoned vehicle with a body slumped inside early
Thursday to police.

Juarez lies across the border from El Paso, Texas.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry