TWO GANG MEMBERS ADMIT BEING HIT MEN FOR MEXICAN DRUG RING

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- Two San Diego gang members have admitted to working
as hit men for a Mexican drug cartel and participating in the 1993
slaying of a Roman Catholic cardinal in Mexico, authorities said.

Adolfo Marin Cuevas, 32, and Carlos Garcia Martinez, 28, made the
admission in U.S. District Court on Thursday as part of a guilty plea
to conspiring to distribute cocaine and marijuana, according to a
statement issued by interim U.S. Attorney Charles G. La Bella.

Marin and Garcia, working as hit men for the Tijuana-based Arellano
Felix drug cartel, were "participating" in the shooting of a rival
drug dealer when Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo and six other
people were shot dead outside Guadalajara airport, La Bella said.
Their exact role was not revealed.

Jose Mendez Torres, 25, a third gang member, also admitted to working
as an enforcer for the cartel as part of a guilty plea to the drug
trafficking and conspiracy charges, which carry a maximum sentence of
life imprisonment. Mendez also admitted to participating in the 1995
kidnapping of a prominent Tijuana businessman.

Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 6.

A federal indictment unsealed in February alleged that the Arellano
Felix drug trafficking organization recruited and used 10 gang members
from San Diego's Logan Heights neighborhood to assist in protection
and enforcement for at least six years.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry