MEXICO SENDS FIRST ALLEGED DRUG KINGPIN TO U.S. FOR TRIAL

'A Tit For Tat, A Trade'

Reflecting a new spirit of co-operation in the war on drugs, Mexico has
extradited Arturo Paez Martinez, an alleged member of the country's most
notorious drug cartel, to the United States where he will be tried for drug
trafficking.

The lieutenant of the Arellano Felix cartel is the first Mexican to be
extradited to the United States under a landmark Mexican Supreme Court
ruling this year.

As many as 13 other Mexicans who have fought extradition for years are
expected to be turned over to U.S. authorities.

"One country alone cannot fight organized criminals. The cartels act
internationally so governments have to act internationally," said a Mexican
official.

"This is not a gift for the U.S. but for Mexico. If we want to get rid of
the cartels and the violence, it is better if we do it together with other
countries."

The extradition is yet another sign of the increased co-operation between
the United States and Mexico on such issues as drugs, migration and Cuba.

Vicente Fox, the Mexican President, has pledged to fight the corruption
within the Mexican federal police force and army that has crippled efforts
to stamp out the country's powerful drug cartels.

The United States praised the extradition of Mr. Paez as an "important
advance" in the bilateral effort to stop drug trafficking.

The U.S. embassy in Mexico City described it as "a very positive event
[that] sends a very strong signal to drug traffickers."

Last week, George W. Bush, who enjoys a close friendship with Mr. Fox,
celebrated Cinco de Mayo (May 5), a Mexican holiday marking a military
victory 139 years ago, with mariachi music at the White House. The U.S.
President has also strengthened U.S.-Mexico ties.

Mr. Paez, who is also known as "Kitti", "Cuarenta" ("Forty") and "El Pelon"
("Bald"), allegedly worked for two of the Arellano Felix brothers,
overseeing the importation of 1,400 kilograms of cocaine to San Diego and
Los Angeles.

He was arrested in Tijuana in 1997 and held on a U.S. extradition request,
but avoided this by filing appeals based on a criminal code provision
saying Mexican citizens must be sentenced under Mexican laws.

But the Supreme Court upheld an executive initiative, brought in by Ernesto
Zedillo, Mr. Fox's predecessor, allowing the country to send its citizens
north to face charges provided they are sentenced under Mexican guidelines.
(Mexico, unlike many U.S. states, does not have a death penalty.)

Mexican citizens who have been charged and convicted in Mexico will first
serve their sentences in Mexico, then in the United States.

Mexico's co-operation with the United States has benefited both countries,
said Andrew Reding, director of the Americas Project at the World Policy
Institute, a New York-based think-tank.

Mexico has made many concessions on drugs, including a recent agreement to
allow U.S. law enforcement officials to conduct security checks on their
Mexican counterparts.

In turn, the United States has agreed to change its controversial and
unilateral drug decertification process carried out annually by the State
Department, linking aid to a country's anti-drugs efforts.

"There is a tit for tat going on, a trade," said Mr. Reding. "Mr. Fox is
good on his word, especially when he is talking to Bush because he wants
things from Bush very badly. For Mexico, the priority is to get a guest
worker program and the Bush administration has indicated it is willing to
do that."

The guest worker program would give Mexicans temporary work visas and
regularize the status of thousands of illegal migrants.