ARRESTED MEXICAN BEAUTY QUEEN'S BOYFRIEND SUSPECTED OF BEING A LEADER IN
JUAREZ CARTEL

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) A Mexican beauty queen arrested in a truck
filled with weapons was dating a man suspected of leading the powerful
Juarez drug cartel, police said Wednesday.

The boyfriend of Miss Sinaloa Laura Zuniga is Angel Orlando Garcia
Urquiza, a top operative in the Ciudad Juarez-based cartel, which at
one point was considered Mexico's largest drug ring, said Jalisco
Public Security Secretary Luis Carlos Najera.

The couple was traveling with six alleged bodyguards in Zapopan,
outside the colonial city of Guadalajara, when soldiers stopped their
two trucks at a military checkpoint on Monday, police said.

Inside, authorities found a large stash of weapons, ammunition and
$53,300 in U.S. currency.

The alleged relationship between Garcia and Mexico's well-known
reigning beauty queen shows how deep powerful drug gangs have
penetrated society, stretching well beyond bribing police and officials.

Mexican media report that traffickers with their visible wealth often
have their pick of women in states like Sinaloa, where Zuniga is from
and the home of the cartel of the same name. The popular musical genre
"Narco-corridos" glorifies traffickers' exploits and gangs often have
prefered bands who play their private parties. A number of Mexican
musicians linked to cartels have been murdered in recent years.

Zuniga won the Miss Sinaloa pageant this year. She placed third in the
Miss Mexico contest, whose winner competes for the Miss Universe
title, and was crowned Miss HispanoAmericana, beating out contestants across
Latin America.

She was expected to represent Mexico in an international contest in
January.

Pageant organizers say they are awaiting the results of the
investigation before deciding whether to strip her of her crowns.

Garcia's brother, Ricardo, was arrested in 2005 and police said he was
responsible for 20 percent of Mexican narcotics sold on U.S. streets
at the time. He reportedly earned nearly $1 billion a month smuggling
Colombian cocaine and marijuana into the United states through
corridors near Juarez, across the border from El Paso.

The Juarez cartel was considered the country's largest drug ring under
the leadership of Amado Carrillo Fuentes, known as "Lord of the Skies"
because the gang flew planes packed with cocaine directly into U.S.
territory.

Carrillo died in 1997 from botched plastic surgery to alter his
appearance and investigators say control of the cartel fell to his
brother, Vicente.

The gang split in 2004 after other powerful smugglers tried to move in
on its trade, and Vicente, fearing for his life, went into hiding.

In his absence, according to federal prosecutors, Ricardo Garcia
Urquiza took control of a faction after forging contacts with
Colombian drug producers while studying to become a surgeon.

After being arrested, Zuniga told police they were planning on
traveling to Bolivia and Colombia to go shopping.

Zuniga's father, Jesus Esteban Zuniga, said her daughter had told him
she was going to a Christmas party in Guadalajara. He told the
Associated Press that he does not believe his daughter is involved in
drug trafficking.

"She's a good daughter," he said. "She's always focused on her work
and she's had a spotless reputation ... until now."