MEXICO ARRESTS ALLEGED LEADER OF DRUG CARTEL

Officials Say The Group Has Killed Hundreds. It Is Responsible For Much Of
The Cocaine In The U.S.

MEXICO CITY - Soldiers captured the alleged leader of Mexico's most violent
drug cartel early yesterday, putting "out of business" the organization
believed responsible for smuggling as much as 40 percent of all cocaine
consumed in the United States, Mexican officials said.

Benjamin Arellano Felix, 49, was described by a U.S. law enforcement
officer as the chief executive officer of the cartel, which officials say
has killed more than 300 rivals, police officers, judges and politicians.

Arellano Felix was the most wanted drug trafficker in the United States and
Mexico. He was captured at 1 a.m. in a house in Puebla, 65 miles southeast
of the capital, Defense Secretary Ricardo Clemente Vega and Attorney
General Rafael Macedo de la Concha announced. No shots were fired.

The officials also confirmed the death of Ramon Arellano Felix, 37, one of
Benjamin Arellano Felix's five brothers and the cartel's enforcer. Named on
the FBI's 10-most-wanted list, Ramon Arellano Felix is believed to have
been killed last month by a rival.

The cartel "is totally out of business," Macedo said.

Mexican President Vicente Fox said the arrest proved that his government
was "working with seriousness" in cracking down on the drug trade.

In Washington, Drug Enforcement Administrator Asa Hutchinson said the
United States wanted Arellano Felix extradited to face drug and
money-laundering charges in California. On Friday, 22 people suspected of
working for or with the cartel in the United States were arrested in
Denver, San Diego and Minneapolis.

The arrest of one brother and the apparent death of another represent "one
of the biggest victories Mexico has seen for law over lawlessness,"
Hutchinson said.

U.S. officials have targeted the Arellano Felix organization for years, but
Hutchinson said yesterday's arrest was "a Mexican government operation all
the way." Neighbors in Puebla's exclusive Escondida neighborhood, which
translates to The Hidden, said Arellano Felix moved in last August and was
known to them as Manuel Trevino.

The Arellano Felix brothers began trafficking drugs more than two decades
ago, moving marijuana grown in mountains near the Pacific coastal resort
city of Mazatlan. They later partnered with Colombian cocaine traffickers
and grew to control the largest portion of the illicit trade into the
United States.

"Benjamin is the CEO," said a U.S. law enforcement official, who spoke on
condition of anonymity. "These guys have lasted a long time. They rule by
terror. They pay a hefty sum in bribes. We feel, conservatively, that they
probably give out $75 million annually in bribes."

Few believe that the arrest means the end of drug trafficking along the
U.S.-Mexican border. The apparent death of the previous top Mexican drug
trafficker, Amado Carrillo Fuentes, leader of the drug cartel in the city
of Juarez, did little to stem the flow.