TIJUANA DRUG TRAFFICKER GETS 30 YEARS IN PRISON

SAN DIEGO -- A man who became a top figure in one of Mexico's largest
and most violent drug cartels after a relatively comfortable
childhood in suburban San Diego was sentenced Monday to 30 years in
prison.

With his ex-wife and three children looking on in federal court,
Everardo Arturo "Kitti" Paez apologized as he became the
highest-ranking member of the Arellano Felix drug cartel to be
convicted and sentenced in the United States.

"I am very sorry for what I did," Paez said, choking with emotion. "I
also want to apologize to the court, and to my family, especially my
mother and children, and to society in general." Paez, 35, pleaded
guilty in October to one count of participating in a continuing
criminal enterprise and a second of conspiracy to launder drug
proceeds.

As part of his plea agreement, he admitted smuggling 3 1"2 tons of
cocaine into the United States from 1989 to 1996.

Paez, who was a legal U.S. resident but held Mexican citizenship, was
arrested while leaving a sushi restaurant he owned in Tijuana,
Mexico, in 1997. He spent the next four years fighting extradition.

He lost his bid when Mexico's Supreme Court ruled in January 2001
that its citizens could be extradited to the United States provided
they did not face the death penalty or life imprisonment. Last
spring, Paez became the first major trafficker sent north for trial
under the ruling.

"This lets traffickers in Mexico know that there is no escape from
American justice," Assistant U.S. Atty. Patrick O'Toole said after
the sentencing.

U.S. officials are hopeful Mexico soon will extradite Ismael Higuera
Guerrero, who is said to be the chief operating officer of the
Arellano Felix organization. The Tijuana-based cartel is said to
control the drug trade in the Mexican state of Baja California, the
busiest smuggling route into the United States.

The cartel maintains its control through intimidation, bribery and
murder, officials said. Its alleged ringleader, Ramon Arellano Felix,
is on the FBI's 10 most wanted list and U.S. authorities are offering
a $2-million reward for his arrest or for that of his brother,
Benjamin.