U.S., COLOMBIAN AGENTS NAB HIGH-LEVEL DRUG FIGURE

Federal agents have arrested a reputed top lieutenant in a violent
Colombian drug cartel, capturing him in a brief unguarded moment while
he was separated from his six bodyguards between an airport checkpoint
and a plane in Bogota.

Jairo Garcia-Lozano, 51, a high-ranking assistant in the North Valley
cartel, was taken into custody last week as he attempted to board an
early-morning flight at El Dorado Airport.

Bodyguards had escorted Garcia-Lozano -- nicknamed ``El Mocho,'' or
Stubby, because he is missing a finger on one hand -- as far as the
passenger checkpoint, allowing him to continue the short distance to
the airplane unguarded. That's when U.S. and Colombian agents pounced.

Agents announced the arrest -- the result of a joint operation between
Colombian authorities and U.S. agencies, including the FBI, the Drug
Enforcement Administration and U.S. Customs -- on Thursday in Miami.
They were joined by Colombia's criminal justice chief, German Gustavo
Jarrimillo.

The United States is seeking Garcia-Lozano's extradition to face
trial, a process that often takes more than a year, officials said.

Still at large: the top boss, Diego Montoya Sanchez, considered the
``capo of all capos,'' responsible for shipping up to 30 tons of
cocaine to the United States in a month.

Montoya Sanchez reportedly also is under investigation for his alleged
participation in a drug cartel massacre in the town of Trujillo, in
southwestern Colombia, and the murder of a priest, officials said.

Agents emphasized that the arrest of such a close associate to the
cartel chief represents a heavy blow to the organization.

``The arrest of Jairo Garcia-Lozano is a significant milestone in our
investigation,'' said Ricardo Martinez, assistant special agent in
charge of the Miami FBI office.

Martinez said the investigation is continuing and that ``we expect
other . . . significant players to fall into the net.''

The arrest stems from a federal indictment April 20, when Montoya
Sanchez, Garcia-Lozano and three others were charged with conspiracy
to import cocaine and money laundering.

Two were arrested in Miami 10 days later -- Gustavo Alonzo
Echeverri-Garcia, 35, nephew of Garcia-Lozano, and Juan Guillermo
Galvez, 25. The two had functioned as a money-laundering arm of the
organization.