MEXICO'S DRUG GANGS MAY FIGHT IT OUT

Mexico City --- The weekend arrest of the most wanted drug lord in both
Mexico and the United States is prompting fears of bloody turf wars along
the border as rivals try to muscle their way into the multibillion-dollar
business long controlled by the Tijuana Cartel.

Heavily armed soldiers surprised Benjamin Arellano Felix overnight Saturday
at a posh home in Puebla, taking the alleged kingpin into custody without
firing a shot.

His capture and the confirmed death of his brother Ramon, the family's
enforcer, are expected to cripple the cartel and spark bloodshed among
rivals at major border crossings such as Tijuana-San Diego and Ciudad
Juarez-El Paso.

"Most analysts are worried there could be an increased level of violence
among the organizations that are trying to establish new routes and new
trafficking regions," said Ana Maria Salazar, a former official in the
Clinton White House and professor at the Autonomous Technological Institute
of Mexico.

A veteran Drug Enforcement Administration agent, speaking on condition of
anonymity, said several months of violence are expected on both sides of
the border until a new dominant group emerges.

"I think it is going to be awhile before there is a definite group or
groups that we can identify. I think it will probably be seven months
before anyone can give a reasonable opinion," the agent said.

Law enforcement experts in Mexico and the United States expect Eduardo and
Javier Arellano Felix to make a bid to save the cartel that law enforcement
officials say was run by their brother. Gunning for their territory will be
Ismael Zampada, a rival drug lord whom Ramon Arellano Felix reportedly was
hunting when he was killed Feb. 10 in Mazatlan.

For the past decade, the Arellano Felix family has used violence to keep a
strong grip on drug smuggling into California and Arizona for distribution
across the United States. The Tijuana Cartel may be responsible for moving
from one-third to 40 percent of the cocaine consumed in the United States,
the DEA has estimated.

The cartel is believed to be behind at least 300 killings in Mexico over
the past decade and was said to have bribed and threatened its way into the
highest corridors of power. Benjamin Arellano Felix reportedly approached
politicians and judges with a no-win choice: accept our money or be killed.

"People were definitely afraid of this guy. I talked to Mexicans who were
absolutely terrified. They knew that this guy had so much stroke," the DEA
agent said. "If they perceived you had crossed them . . . you were going to
be killed."