Source: Houston Chronicle, Tuesday, July 8, 1997 LTEs: Battle looms despite doubt that drug lord truly died By ANDREW DOWNIE Copyright 1997 Special to the Chronicle CULIACAN, Mexico The reported death of Mexico's leading drug trafficker will probably trigger a power struggle inside in his organization and a realignment in the drug trade across Mexico, Mexican officials said Monday. U.S. drug agents said Sunday that they had been told by Mexican officials that Amado Carrillo Fuentes died in Mexico City after undergoing eight hours of surgery to change his appearance. But Mexican officials said later that they cannot confirm the death until they run DNA tests on the body. On Monday, the reports of his death were met with widespread skepticism here, with former Attorney General Antonio Lozano calling the report a "fantasy." Regardless of whether Amado Carrillo Fuentes has died or gone into hiding to escape the authorities, his Juarez drug cartel will never be the same, experts on both sides of the border agreed. Francisco Molina, a former drug czar in Mexico, said that factions inside the cartel will compete to establish relationships with cocaine suppliers in Colombia, distributors in the United States and corrupt officials in Mexico for protection and services. "There is going to be a fight to see who dominates," Molina said. "Every branch of the organization has some power." Molina said the battle may lead to bloodshed because one of those sectors vying for power will be the armed wing of the cartel. Those in the armed wing, however, seldom have contacts with suppliers, while distributors, traffickers and those who manage the corruption of public officials lack power or other knowhow, he said. "It is not easy to make associations," Molina said. Among those best placed to assume Carrillo's mantel is his brother Vicente, who worked closely alongside him in Ciudad Juarez, the bustling Chihuahua state city across the border from El Paso. Another possibility is the family's youngest brother, Rodolfo, who, Culiacan's El Debate newspaper said, was designated by Carrillo as his successor. The paper said Rodolfo controls the business and transportation side of cartel operations. But Carrillo's brothers are young, and drug experts said more likely contenders to take control are another set of brothers, Rafael, Eduardo and Raul Munoz Talavera, all of whom have an intimate knowledge of drug smuggling operations in Chihuahua state. All three worked closely with Carrillo's predecessor, Rafael Aguilar, and then aligned themselves with Carrillo after Aguilar was shot and killed in 1993. Law enforcement sources in Chihuahua said the brothers worked with Carrillo for years but not necessarily directly for him. All three are under indictment in the Western District of Texas on cocaine trafficking and moneylaundering charges. One of the brothers, Eduardo Munoz Talavera, is in jail in Mexico. The Tijuanabased Arellano Felix brothers, for years deadly enemies of Carrillo, will also benefit from Carrillo's reported death, but they are unlikely to move in on his territory, Mexican experts said. The Arellanos run the only drug trafficking operation with resources and reach comparable to that of Carrillo. The animosity between the Arellanos and Carrillo's organization has grown in recent years because Carrill sought to expand his territory west toward Tijuana. The Arellanos, who have moved away from smuggling cocaine in recent years, may try to make contact with Carrillo's South American cocaine suppliers, Molina said. The former drug czar said he thought it unlikely the Arellanos would make moves on Ciudad Juarez, pointing out that the brothers made no effort to gain ground in the east when Juan Garcia Abrego, head of the Matamorosbased Gulf cartel, was captured in January 1996. "They didn't go to the Gulf," Molina said. "I don't think they have ever entered territory they didn't already dominate." Andrew Downie is a freelance journalist based in Mexico City.