BROTHER TAKES OVER MEXICAN DRUG CARTEL

EL PASO, Texas - Federal authorities yesterday identified Vicente
Carrillo-Fuentes, brother of a Mexican drug lord who died in 1997
after undergoing plastic surgery, as the new leader of a Juarez-area
cartel.

Although a federal grand jury had returned a 27-count indictment
against Carrillo-Fuentes in August 1997 and requested his extradition,
authorities unsealed the documents only this week.

The Juarez and Tijuana cartels are believed to be Mexico's two largest
drug organizations.

Carrillo-Fuentes' indictment includes federal drug and
money-laundering charges and seeks $56.5 million in criminal asset
forfeiture. The figure is based on the drug merchant's anticipated
earnings on tons of cocaine and marijuana seized by authorities.
Carrillo-Fuentes also faces up to life in prison if he is convicted.

Believed to be somewhere in Mexico, Carrillo-Fuentes was responsible
for funneling cocaine and marijuana through the western area of Texas
en route to cities including Dallas, Chicago and New York,
law-enforcement agents said.

Vicente's brother, Amado Carrillo-Fuentes, was legendary for his
abilities to bully or coax Colombian drug traffickers into working
with him. After Amado's death on July 4, 1997, the Juarez-El Paso drug
organization fell into violent disarray.

Vicente Carrillo-Fuentes apparently assumed the cartel's leadership
after a rival, Rafael Munoz-Talavera, was killed earlier this year,
agents said.

Nevertheless, gory contests for cartel dominance still make Juarez
unsafe, said DEA special agent Robert Castillo.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry