MEXICAN EX-GOVERNOR A NO-SHOW

MEXICO CITY -- Facing an intensifying investigation of his alleged ties to
drug smugglers, the governor of the state of Quintana Roo on Mexico's
Caribbean coast missed another date: his successor's inauguration Monday
night.

Skipping the inaugural was the latest in a string of missed appointments
for Mario Villanueva, who Mexican crime experts say has probably fled the
country. He had stood up prosecutors twice in recent days.

It's believed that Villanueva is likely in either Belize -- the Central
American country closest to Quintana Roo -- or Panama, where law
enforcement officials say he has business interests and political connections.

Villanueva's lawyer -- who said he doesn't know his client's whereabouts --
also said he wouldn't blame the now ex-governor if he decided to flee.

``His defense could be easier to mount in a foreign country than here in
Mexico,'' Raul Cardenas said in a radio interview. Cardenas also
represented Raul Salinas, convicted of murder and brother of former
president Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

Mexican legal experts familiar with the investigation predicted that 28
drug-related charges will be filed as early as today against Villanueva.
During his six-year term, trafficking by the powerful crime group known as
the Gulf Cartel exploded and now accounts for about 15 tons of U.S.-bound
cocaine each month, according to drug agents.

Even the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has officially entered the picture,
offering to help search for Villanueva.

``It would be a major lapse on the government's part to have lost him,''
said Raul Plascencia, an analyst with the Institute for Judicial Research
in Mexico City. ``I'm hoping they know where he is and are just waiting for
charges to be filed to bring him in.''

Before 20,000 noisy supporters and dignitaries in a baseball stadium in
Chetumal, 150 miles south of Cancun, Joaquin Hendricks Diaz was sworn in as
Quintana Roo's new governor Monday night. Hendricks Diaz's acceptance
speech made no mention of Villanueva, who became the first exiting governor
in recent Mexican history to miss his successor's swearing-in.

Hendricks Diaz pledged a major fight against drug smuggling.

``Organized crime elements and narco-traffickers who would destabilize our
state will be frustrated by our hard work,'' the new governor said.

Crime experts say that the new governor has a virtually impossible task in
a region that has become rife with drug-related corruption.

``The roots of this problem are deep -- too much for one man to fix,'' said
Guillermo Velasco, president of Mexicans United Against Crime, a Mexico
City foundation that has closely followed the Villanueva investigation.