LANDMARK RULING

Mexico's Highest Court Upholds Extradition

The Mexican Supreme Court's precedent-setting 10-1 ruling authorizing the
extradition to the United States of accused Tijuana drug trafficker Arturo
"Kitti" Paez Martinez marks a milestone long sought by U.S. officials. It
promises to close a huge gap in the frustrating battle against cross-border
drug trafficking.

But the Paez matter is also part of the latest good news/bad news mix from
Mexico that illustrates just how tough a challenge President Vicente Fox
faces in taking on the drug cartels.

Despite a 30-year-old extradi-tion treaty, Mexico has never turned over a
major narcotics figure of Mexican nationality wanted for trial on drug
charges in the United States. Barring some legal snag in Mexico, Paez now
looks likely to break that long and lamentable exclusion. The case
assembled against Paez by U.S. prosecutors makes bringing him to justice
here a priority.

A 28-page, six-count indictment of Paez was secretly issued by a federal
grand jury in San Diego in 1997 and unsealed in 1998 after Mexican police
arrested Paez in Tijuana. The U.S. indictment charges Paez with conspiring
to smuggle more than a ton of cocaine into the United States. In addition,
the indictment identifies Paez as a principal lieutenant of the murderous
Tijuana drug cartel known as the Arellano Felix Organization.

Privately, U.S. authorities say they believe Paez supervised the smuggling
of over 20 tons of cocaine from Mexico into the United States between 1988
and 1996. There can be no doubt about Paez's credentials as a trafficker.

The evidence against Paez is abundant and compelling. Should he be
extradited, the strong case against him might well prompt his cooperation
with Justice Department prosecutors. That could produce a veritable archive
of additional information on the Arellano Felix Organization's past
structure and activities, possibly including the identities of Mexican
government officials and police who were on the cartel's payroll.

Measured against the good news of Paez's prospective extradition must be
the escape from custody Friday night of one of Mexico's most notorious drug
lords. Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, a convicted cocaine trafficker and
former head of the Sinaloa drug cartel, was serving a 20-year sentence when
he disappeared Friday night from a maximum security prison near
Guadalajara. The circumstances make it obvious that Guzman or his cartel
bought his way out of prison.

Fox's challenge is to attack the vast corruption that drug trafficking
breeds while simultaneously assaulting Mexico's half dozen major cartels,
including the vicious, Tijuana-based Arellano Felix Organization. The 500
or so heavily armed Mexican federal police sent into Tijuana Friday were
meant as a demonstration of Fox's bold pledge to apprehend the Arellano
Felix principals, including brothers Ramon and Benjamin, within six months.

Past Tijuana sweeps have been mostly exercises in public relations. Any
realistic chance of bringing down the Tijuana cartel will require an
unprecedented effort by the Fox government. Extraditing Arturo Paez to
stand trial in San Diego would be an impressive demonstration of Fox's resolve.