AN ARELLANO DEAD?

Probably, But Tijuana Cartel Survives

Further investigation by Mexican authorities aided by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will be required
before there is proof that Tijuana cartel kingpin Ramon Arellano Felix is
dead. Until then, the preliminary evidence, including photographs, strongly
indicates that the Arellano Felix Organization's infamous enforcer died in a
shootout with Mexican police on Feb. 10 in the resort city of Mazatlan.

Assuming eventual confirmation, Ramon's death would mark an obvious milestone
in the long struggle to put the Tijuana cartel out of business and bring its
leaders to justice. Ramon was under indictment in the United States on a
series of drug trafficking charges. He had been on the FBI's list of Ten Most
Wanted fugitives since 1997.

In a cartel exceptionally violent even by the drug trade's horrific standards,
Ramon ran a latter-day Murder Inc. His hit squads were responsible for
hundreds of murders, including Mexican police, prosecutors, suspected
informants and rival drug traffickers. Torture was an AFO staple under Ramon's
brutal direction.

But if Ramon might fairly be described as the AFO's brute, his older brother,
Benjamin, remains its brains. Ramon was number two to top dog Benjamin. Odds
are, the drug trade won't miss a beat.

Which brings us to what is still the central issue - the binational campaign
by two governments against the Tijuana cartel.

Ramon's death would of course constitute a major victory, but the rest of the
counter-cartel effort reportedly isn't going particularly well. True, the
Arellanos are being crowded by rival traffickers. True, too, that law
enforcement pressure in Mexico and from the United States forces them to keep
a low profile. But the Tijuana cartel is still sending tons of narcotics
across the Southwest border each month and earning billion-dollar profits.

Corruption in the mid-level ranks of Mexico's police and prosecutors continues
to cripple the anti-drug fight, despite the vows of President Vicente Fox to
root out crooked cops and paid-off officials.

Even assuming Ramon is dead, Washington and Mexico City should understand that
the AFO is far from finished. Washington and Mexico City both need to tighten
the pressure on this blood-spattered criminal empire.