MEXICO ARRESTS ALLEGED DRUG LORD

The Reputed Capo Of The Gulf Cartel Is Seized After A Savage Firefight In
City On Border With Texas

MEXICO CITY -- Soldiers from the Mexican military seized reputed narcotics
kingpin Osiel Cardenas in a wild shootout near the Texas border Friday,
striking a blow at one of this nation's most brazen drug cartels.

At least three soldiers were injured in the firefight that raged for more
than an hour on the streets of Matamoros, a gritty industrial city across
the border from Brownsville, Texas. Cardenas was taken by plane to an
undisclosed location after his capture, the result of a six-month
investigation, according to Mexican authorities.

The alleged head of the Gulf drug cartel and one of Mexico's most wanted
men, Cardenas likewise faces charges in the United States, where he is
accused of involvement in drug trafficking, organized crime, money
laundering and assaults on U.S. federal agents. So audacious was the
35-year-old former police officer, say U.S. authorities, that he threatened
to kill two U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials during a
confrontation on the streets of Matamoros in 1999, then threw a raucous
party the next day to celebrate his exploits. The State Department had
offered a $2-million reward for his capture.

"This is the latest of a series of impressive blows dealt by the
administration of President Vicente Fox to dismantle the major
drug-trafficking cartels," the department said in a statement released Friday.

Cardenas' arrest is the latest in a series of high-profile strikes against
Mexico's powerful drug cartels, which until recent years had operated with
near impunity. In May, Mexican soldiers captured Albino Quintero Meraz, a
major trafficker aligned with the Juarez cartel. Two and a half months
earlier, authorities toppled the leadership of the violent Tijuana drug
mafia, nabbing the cartel's alleged boss, Benjamin Arellano Felix, and
killing his brother Ramon in a shootout.

Under Fox, Mexico has also made progress in rooting out corruption among
police officers who aid drug cartels. In January, soldiers and police shut
down 11 offices of the Federal Special Prosecutor's Office for Drug Crimes,
roughly the equivalent of the DEA, searching for evidence of corruption
among agents.

American drug enforcement officials were effusive Friday in their praise of
Fox, who is credited with sparking a new spirit of cooperation between U.S.
and Mexican law enforcement.

"The arrest of Osiel Cardenas is a testament to the hard work and diligence
of the Mexican authorities and the Fox administration," said John B. Brown
III, acting administrator of the DEA. "With Cardenas' arrest, yet another
violent and dangerous drug trafficker -- in this case, one who has also
directly threatened federal drug agents -- has been taken off the streets."

A onetime police communications specialist, Cardenas allegedly switched
sides and rose quickly through the ranks of the region's drug trade.

The Gulf cartel, which is based in Tamaulipas state, smuggles cocaine and
marijuana into the United States. The cartel was considered the most
powerful along the border until then-leader Juan Garcia Abrego was captured
in 1996. He was turned over to U.S. authorities and later sentenced to 11
life terms in Texas. Last March, Mexico arrested the alleged No. 2 figure
in the Gulf cartel, Adan Medrano, in Matamoros.

Federal prosecutors believe Cardenas was trying to rejuvenate his empire by
forging an alliance with the Juarez cartel, which operates across the
border from El Paso, Associated Press reported.

Friday's shootout, which began just before 10 a.m., sent bystanders
scrambling as bursts of automatic weapons fire ricocheted through the
border city's streets.

"It was really ugly, lasting more than an hour," said Rigoberto Ramos, a
reporter with the Matamoros daily El Bravo.