MEXICO ARRESTS DRUG BOSS

MEXICO CITY, March 9 - Heavily armed Mexican commandos detained one of the
country's leading drug lords early today and authorities later confirmed the
death of his brother, a notorious enforcer, in a major strike against a
multibillion-dollar cartel that has tormented law enforcement efforts on
both sides of the border.

Benjamin Arellano Felix, 49, presumed leader and financier of the ruthless
Tijuana drug cartel, was arrested at 1 a.m. in a house in an exclusive
neighborhood in the central Mexican city of Puebla. Announcing the arrest
this morning, Mexican officials also said they were virtually certain that
Arellano Felix's brother, Ramon Arellano Felix, 37, was killed in a shootout
with police last month.

Drug Enforcement Administration Chief Asa Hutchinson said in Washington that
the United States would seek the extradition of Arellano Felix, whom he
described as the DEA's "number one" target. The Tijuana cartel smuggles
hundreds of tons of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana into the
United States each year, according to the DEA, which estimates the
organization is responsible for one-third of all the cocaine consumed in the
United States.

The arrest of Benjamin Arellano Felix culminates a nearly two-decade pursuit
by officials in both countries, during which time he and his brother seemed
almost untouchable, despite a $2 million U.S. bounty on each of them.

They achieved almost mythical gangster status, running an operation that
involved speedboats and planes, secret airstrips and hidden tunnels beneath
the border. They paid millions every year to bribe police and judges,
generals and governors. They gruesomely murdered anyone who stood in their
way; cracking open the head of a drug prosecutor in a vise, slitting the
throats of enemies and killing their children.

"With the death of Ramon Arellano and the capture of Benjamin Arellano, the
Arellano cartel has been totally dismantled," said Mexico's attorney
general, Rafael Macedo de la Concha.

Donald J. Thornhill Jr., a DEA spokesman in San Diego who worked in Mexico
for several years, agreed: "Now that these guys are out of the picture, it's
going to implode. I think the [Arellano Felix Organization] is finished."

Speculation about whether Ramon Arellano Felix - whose photo appears
alongside Osama bin Laden's on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list - was dead, has
been rampant here since Feb. 10, when an unidentified man closely resembling
him was killed in a shootout with police in the Pacific resort city of
Mazatlan.

Macedo, the attorney general, said today that evidence found in the house
where Benjamin Arellano Felix was arrested essentially proved that his
brother, Ramon, was dead. The evidence, he said, included an altar featuring
a photo of Ramon. DNA tests are being performed at the FBI laboratory in
Washington.

On a video made by Mexican law enforcement officials and shown to reporters
today, Benjamin was asked if the man killed in Mazatlan was his brother. He
replied, "Yes, yes it is." Macedo said that was further proof Ramon was
dead.

Because of the brothers' enormous power and mystique, and because the body
in Mazatlan was collected by someone who claimed to be a relative and was
reportedly cremated, many Mexicans believe the cartel might have faked
Ramon's death to throw off authorities.

But many officials, including Bill Gore, special agent in charge of the
FBI's San Diego office, said they were almost sure that Ramon was dead.
Since 1996, Gore's office has participated in a special FBI-DEA task force
assigned to the Arellano Felix smuggling organization.

Although devastating for the Tijuana cartel, today's events were not likely
to sharply reduce the avalanche of illegal drugs smuggled into the United
States. When one major organization is broken up, others usually pick up its
business.

But the news was a major morale booster to government authorities in both
countries. It was particularly sweet for the DEA; the uncle of the Arellano
Felix brothers, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, the cartel's founder, was
implicated in the 1985 torture and murder of DEA agent Enrique "Kiki"
Camarena.

"I'm not crying any crocodile tears over Ramon's demise," Thornhill said,
pointing to his alleged involvement in "several hundred murders."

In Washington, Hutchinson said U.S. authorities had no advance knowledge of
the raid on Benjamin Arellano Felix and did not participate in the
operation.

"I certainly knew that they were hot on his trail, but it came as great news
to me this morning," Hutchinson said.

The arrest of Benjamin Arellano Felix is also a major boost for Mexican
President Vicente Fox, who has vowed a "war without mercy" against drug
traffickers and organized crime gangs. Fox today called the arrest "a great
triumph of justice."

Last week, U.S. and Mexican officials discovered a 1,200-foot tunnel
running under the border from Mexico to a small town east of San Diego.
Officials said the Arellano Felix cartel used the tunnel to move billions of
dollars worth of drugs into the United States.

On Friday, the FBI announced the arrest of 22 people in Denver, San Diego
and the Minneapolis area, and charged them with crimes including conspiracy
to distribute and possess cocaine. The FBI's Minneapolis field office said
they may be linked to the Arellano Felix group.

"Now comes the really interesting part: can the judicial system handle it?"
said Ana Maria Salazar, who was deputy assistant secretary of defense for
drug enforcement policy in the Clinton administration. Salazar, who now
teaches in Mexico, said it remained to be seen whether Mexico could protect
judges, prosecutors and others involved in the case.

A third brother, Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix, 52, has been in prison
since 1993 on various charges, including involvement in the death of Roman
Catholic Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo, who was killed in drug-gang
crossfire outside the Guadalajara airport. Two other Arellano Felix brothers
wanted by authorities, Francisco Javier, 32 and Eduardo, 46 remain at large.