ALLEGED CARTEL DRUG BOSS EXTRADITED TO US SATURDAY

An alleged leader of the Juarez drug cartel who was known for using
intimidation to control smuggling routes in the Valley of Juarez has
been extradited to the United States, the Drug Enforcement
Administration said Saturday.

Jose Rodolfo Escajeda, known as "El Rikin," arrived in the U.S. on
Saturday to face charges of marijuana and cocaine trafficking, the DEA said.

He is the second Juarez cartel member extradited by Mexico to the
U.S. this year.

Escajeda, suspected in the slayings of 18 people at a drug
rehabilitation center in Juarez, is also suspected in the slayings of
anti-crime activists Benjamin LeBaron and LeBaron's brother-in-law
Luis Carlos Whitman last year in Galeana, Chihuahua.

LeBaron, who had dual U.S.-Mexico citizenship, was killed after a
community protest movement that forced the release of LeBaron's
kidnapped brother, Mexican authorities said.

Escajeda, who is believed to be a boss in La Linea, or Juarez drug
cartel, was arrested by the Mexican army in September 2009, and since
then the DEA had been seeking his extradition to face drug charges in the U.S.

Two other men, Sergio Humberto Lujan and Marco Antonio Lujan, who
fled El Paso after being convicted on drug trafficking charges, also
were extradited to the U.S., the DEA said.

"The extradition in these cases demonstrates the Mexican government's
ongoing commitment to bringing drug traffickers to justice -- on both
sides of the border," said Joseph Arabit, special agent in charge of
the El Paso Division of the DEA.

The DEA said in a prepared statement that Escajeda and his
organization had been the target of an investigation that led to an
indictment in 2006 on drug charges.

When he was arrested by Mexican authorities, DEA officials said the
Juarez drug cartel suffered a powerful blow.

Law enforcement officials had said Escajeda had a reputation for
being dangerous and would use terror to control the Valley of Juarez.

The DEA said Saturday that Escajeda's drug organization was based in
Guadalupe, Chihuahua, east of El Paso.

Officials had said that Escajeda allegedly would fire an AK-47 rifles
out of moving cars, would burn homes, would kill people and would
behead some of them.

Escajeda and his brother, Oscar Alonso Escajeda Candelaria, are
suspected of being behind a standoff between Hudspeth County
sheriff's deputies and armed men dressed as Mexican soldiers in 2006.
The standoff led to congressional hearing on the incident. Mexico has
denied that Mexican soldiers were involved in the standoff.

Oscar Escajeda, known as "La Gata," or the cat, was extradited to the
U.S. by Mexico in April 2009.

The DEA said Saturday that the Escajeda organization was responsible
for the transportation, storage and importation of large amounts of
marijuana and cocaine for cartels in the Juarez and El Paso area.

Special Agent Diana Apodaca, a spokeswoman for the DEA in El Paso,
said Saturday that Jose Escajeda should have an initial court
appearance sometime next week, but she could not say where.

Apodaca also would not say where he is being held or where he came
into the United States.

She said Jose Escajeda arrived in the U.S. on Saturday.

"It's very significant. It shows continued cooperation between the
U.S. and Mexico and it shows the continued commitment of the
government of Mexico to arrest drug traffickers," she said.

She said that Jose Escajeda, who in his early 30s, is not suspected
of any slayings in the U.S. Jose Escajeda is the second important
extradition Mexico has made this year.

In September, a man suspected of ordering the slayings of a U.S.
Consulate worker and her husband was sent to the U.S. to face charges
of drug-dealing and unlawful possession of weapons.

Jesus Ernesto Chavez Castillo, known as "El Camello," or the camel,
is suspected of ordering the slayings of Lesley Enriquez Redelfs and
her husband, Arthur Redelfs, both of El Paso.