EXTRADITED DRUG CARTEL SUSPECT IS ARRAIGNED IN U.S. COURT

SAN DIEGO -- After years of trying, federal authorities Monday had Everardo
Arturo Paez Martinez where they wanted him: in a courtroom on U.S. soil.

Paez, a Mexican citizen suspected of having been a top aide in Tijuana's
Arellano Felix drug cartel, was arraigned in U.S. District Court after
being extradited by Mexico in a move hailed as historic.

It was the first time Mexico had agreed to hand over a major Mexican drug
suspect, U.S. officials said. Mexico in recent years has extradited minor
suspects and, in one case, a top drug boss who held dual U.S. citizenship.
But its traditional reluctance to hand over Mexican citizens has long
frustrated U.S. drug agents and has been a sore spot in binational relations.

That changed after Mexico's Supreme Court issued a ruling in January
removing legal barriers to the extradition of Mexicans. Paez's extradition
Friday was the first since the ruling.

"This sends a very loud message to the traffickers in Mexico that they will
be held accountable for their actions," said Errol J. Chavez, head of the
U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's office in San Diego.

Paez, 34, is charged in a six-count 1997 indictment with directing the
shipments of tons of cocaine into the United States during an eight-year
period. The charges include money laundering and a so-called drug kingpin
allegation that carries a mandatory life sentence if Paez is convicted.

Clad in an orange jumpsuit, Paez, who grew up in Chula Vista, listened
intently to a Spanish-speaking interpreter in court Monday as his attorney
entered not guilty pleas.

Paez had fought extradition since his arrest in Tijuana in 1997. Even after
the Supreme Court ruling in January, U.S. officials worried that he would
find new ways to fend it off.

Officials said Mexico's president, Vicente Fox, deserved credit for the
quick handling of the extradition and for signaling a renewed partnership
in fighting drug trafficking. Fox has vowed since taking office in December
to wage war on organized crime.

"Now the major Mexican drug traffickers cannot assume that, as long as they
stay in Mexico, they will never have to face justice in the United States,"
said Gregory A. Vega, U.S. attorney for San Diego and Imperial counties.

Authorities say Paez enjoyed a close relationship with two Arellano
brothers, Benjamin and Ramon, who face U.S. charges but remain at large.
Paez knows the workings of the drug gang and may have contacts with
associates, officials said. But one U.S. official conceded that Paez, who
has spent more than three years behind bars near Mexico City, might lack
up-to-date information, such as the whereabouts of the Arellanos.

The extradition marks the latest setback for the gang, which some believe
is responsible for up to a fifth of the cocaine smuggled into the United
States. Two ranking operatives, Jesus Labra Avila and Ismael Higuera
Guerrero, are in custody in Mexico after being captured in separate
operations last year.

U.S. authorities have sought the extradition of Higuera, who faces Mexican
charges. Under the U.S.-Mexico extradition treaty, Higuera must face those
charges and serve any sentence in Mexico before he could be handed to the
United States.