MEXICO TROOPS ARREST ALLEGED DRUG KINGPIN

16 Suspected Associates of Arellano Felix Held in Denver

MEXICO CITY - Soldiers captured the alleged leader
of Mexico's most violent drug cartel early Saturday, putting "out of
business" the organization believed responsible for smuggling as much as 40
percent of all cocaine consumed in the United States, Mexican officials said.

Benjamin Arellano Felix, 49, was described by a U.S. law enforcement
officer as the chief executive officer of the cartel, which officials say
has killed more than 300 rivals, police officers, judges and politicians.

Arellano Felix was the most wanted drug trafficker in the United States and
Mexico, a man with the legendary status of gangsters such as Al Capone.

In Washington, Drug Enforcement Administration chief Asa Hutchinson said
the United States wants Arellano Felix extradited to face drug and
money-laundering charges in California.

On Friday, 22 people suspected of working for or with the cartel in the
United States were arrested in Denver, San Diego and Minneapolis. The
arrests in Colorado netted 16 people accused of putting$1 million a month
worth of cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana on Denver's streets.

Another five people named in the federal indictment are being sought, U.S.
Attorney John Suthers said.

"In terms of what we have encountered before, this is a large
organization," Suthers said.

"Any time you can take 21 people and tell (some of) them they're going to
face life in prison, and take a million dollars of drugs off the streets,
it's a tremendous effort," said Denver Police Chief Gerry Whitman.

Arellano Felix was captured at 1 a.m. in a house in Puebla, 65 miles south
of the capital, Defense Secretary Ricardo Clemente Vega and Attorney
General Rafael Macedo de la Concha announced. No shots were fired.

Mexican officials also confirmed the death of Ramon Arellano Felix, 37, one
of Benjamin Arellano Felix's five brothers and the cartel's enforcer. Named
on the FBI's 10-most-wanted list, Ramon Arellano Felix is believed to have
been killed last month by a rival.

The cartel "is totally out of business," Macedo said.

Mexican President Vicente Fox said the arrest proved that his government is
"working with seriousness" in cracking down on the drug trade.

The arrest of one brother and the apparent death of another represent "one
of the biggest victories Mexico has seen for law over lawlessness,"
Hutchinson said.

U.S. officials have targeted the Arellano Felix organization for years, but
Hutchinson said Saturday's arrest was "a Mexican government operation all
the way."

Neighbors in Puebla's exclusive Escondida neighborhood, which translates to
The Hidden, said Arellano Felix moved in last August and was known to them
as Manuel Trevino.

The Arellano Felix brothers began trafficking drugs more than two decades
ago, moving marijuana grown in mountains near the Pacific coast resort city
of Mazatlan. They later partnered with Colombian cocaine traffickers and
grew to control the largest portion of the illicit trade into the United
States.

Hard numbers are impossible to come by, but the DEA estimates that the
Tijuana cartel moved anywhere from one-third to 40 percent of the cocaine
used in the United States.

"Benjamin is the CEO," said a U.S. law enforcement official who spoke on
condition of anonymity. "These guys have lasted a long time. They rule by
terror. They pay a hefty sum in bribes. We feel, conservatively, that they
probably give out $75 million annually in bribes."

In Colorado, a federal indictment returned Feb. 28 accuses Mario
Oregon-Cortez, 39, until recently of Denver, of heading a distribution
organization that shuttled drugs hidden inside Lincoln Town Cars with
secret compartments.

The drugs were taken from Mexico to San Diego, where they were put into the
cars and sent to Denver. Some of the drugs were sold here; the rest were
repackaged and sent on to eight states in the Midwest and on the East
Coast, authorities said.

Oregon-Cortez and his older brother, Ascencion, of Chula Vista, Calif.,
were charged under a law known as the drug-kingpin statute. If convicted,
each of the brothers could face between 20 years and life in prison, and
fines of up to $4 million.

The other defendants face up to 10 years in prison and $1 million in fines
each.

Of the 16 people arrested Friday, three lived in Denver, three in Aurora,
and the rest were from South Dakota and California. The five still being
sought include two Denver residents, and people in Florida, South Dakota
and Kentucky.

Last year, authorities seized 102 kilograms of cocaine worth $10 million in
Denver and Aurora, and arrested three men. They said it was the largest
drug bust in the Denver area in 13 years.

Denver Post staff writer Gwen Florio contributed to this report.