OFFICIALS ARRESTED IN MEXICO

MEXICO CITY - The top federal law official in a Mexican state
bordering Texas has been arrested in connection with the
drug-motivated murder of a federal police commander, the attorney
general's office announced Thursday.

Carmen Oralio Castro Aparicio, a soldier, had been the attorney
general's representative in the state of Tamaulipas until about two
months ago, when he was called back to Mexico City and placed under
detention at a military base while officials investigated the slaying
of Jaime Rajid Gutierrez Arreola, who oversaw anti-narcotics operations.

Tamaulipas is bordered by Texas on the north and the Gulf of Mexico on
the east.

Ten other men -- including several of Castro's top lieutenants -- also
have been arrested or are sought in the case, a statement said.

The arrest appears to be another demonstration of the vulnerability of
Mexico's army and law enforcement agencies to corruption -- as well as
the will to battle against it.

When Gutierrez was found shot to death on a highway near the border
city of Reynosa in March, local investigators working under Castro at
first said he had died in a confrontation with drug
traffickers.

But officials in Mexico City grew suspicious of the probe and
conducted their own.

Witnesses and other evidence led them to believe that Castro and other
top officials had been present when Gutierrez was murdered, apparently
in a dispute over money linked to the drug trade.

A judge in Mexico City issued arrest warrants for Castro and the other
men on charges including organized crime, murder, abuse of authority
and coverup, the attorney general's office said.

Among the others under arrest are Castro's deputy, four federal police
officers and the state coroner.

Three other civilians are still being sought in the
case.