MEXICAN AUTHORITIES LINK MASSACRE OF 19 TO DRUG GANG LED BY 4 BROTHERS

Three Suspects Are In Custody And 10 Others Sought In The Killing Of
Villagers North Of Ensenada.

Mexico City-The massacre of 19 people in a small Indian community near
the northern city of Ensenada has been linked to the Arellano Felix
brothers, who run Mexico's most violent drug gang, the attorney
general's office said Tuesday.

In one of the bloodiest drug-related massacres in Mexico, an alleged
drug trafficker and 18 members of his extended family were roused from
their beds Sept. 17 by gunmen who lined them up against a wall and
shot them with automatic weapons.

The gunmen's target, a Pei Pei Indian named Fermin Castro, died two
weeks later of complications from two bullet wounds he received in the
attack.

The gunmen were members of a gang led by a man known by his associates
as Lino Quintana, whose gang "is an armed group that works for Ramon
Arellano Felix," said Gen. Guillermo Alvarez, who coordinates
anti-drug efforts at the judicial police.

Alvarez and federal prosecutors said Quintana's gang killed Castro to
keep his marijuana-trafficking operation from growing into a potential
competitor.

They said three suspects were under arrest and arrest warrants have
been issued for 10 other.

Alvarez said Quintana's gang had used green military-style uniforms
that apparently were bought in the United States, and insisted Mexican
soldiers were not involved in the massacre, as local media have speculated.

Ramon Arellano Felix was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List last
year and U.S. federal authorities have offered a $2 million reward for
information leading to his arrest.

He and three of his brothers are fugitives who control major routes
funneling cocaine, marijuana and other drugs into the United States
across the California-Mexico border, authorities said.

Mexican authorities have sought the brothers since 1993.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry