MEXICAN AUTHORITIES SEIZE THREE LUXURY HOTELS FROM ALLEGED DRUG LORDS

11.38 a.m. ET (1639 GMT) November 24, 1998 MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexican
authorites have seized three five-star hotels in the Yucatan resort of
Cancun, saying they were owned by a major drug cartel, a Mexico City
newspaper reported Tuesday.

The newspaper Reforma said the attorney general's office had seized
the Costa Real, Porto Real and Laguna Real hotels, between them worth
almost $200 million, and said they were owned by members of a Ciudad
Juarez-based drug-smuggling organization. Juarez is across the Rio
Grande from El Paso, Texas.

The attorney general's office also is investigating possible ties
between the smugglers and several high-ranking officials of Quintana
Roo state, Reforma reported.

The newspaper previously has published articles claiming alleged ties
between Quintana Roo Gov. Mario Villanueva and drug dealers. It also
has accused him of intimidating a U.S. consul.

Checked-by: derek rea