Source: Associated Press
Pubdate: Sat, 30 May 1998
Author: Anita Snow, Associated Press Writer

MEXICO'S MOST VIOLENT DRUG KINGPINS GO UNDERGROUND AS FEDS TURN UP HEAT

TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) -- The gangland-style shootouts that plagued this
drug-infested border city abruptly stopped. Local elections and land
disputes replaced reports about the Arellano Felix drug gang on the nightly
news.

Apparently taking a cue from Colombian drug lords, the Arellano Felix
brothers are replacing their attention-getting violence with a quieter,
more businesslike style.

``They aren't seen in the discos and restaurants anymore,'' said newspaper
publisher Jesus Blancornelas, who was almost killed six months ago by
gunmen believed to work for the gang. ``Things are a lot more peaceful here
now. It's almost like a normal city.''

Experts believe that after the gang's top enforcer, Ramon Arellano Felix,
was placed on the FBI's Most Wanted List and indicted on U.S. federal drug
charges last fall, members of Mexico's fastest-growing narcotics
organization went underground for survival.

``They have definitely taken on a much lower profile,'' said Errol Chavez
of the Drug Enforcement Administration in San Diego. ``But there is no sign
that their business is slowing down.''

A similar shift occurred several years ago in Colombia, where the violent
Pablo Escobar headed the Medellin cartel.

With his bombings of shopping malls, political assassinations -- even the
downing of a jetliner -- Escobar sought to intimidate the government so it
would leave him alone.

But his extreme violence made him a prime target of Colombian law
enforcement. He was killed by authorities in December 1993.

With Escobar's demise, the rival Cali cartel grew in importance under the
guidance of businessmen who preferred bribes over bullets.

The man once described as Mexico's No. 1 drug lord, Amado Carrillo Fuentes,
learned from Cali mentors to keep phone conversations secure from snooping
drug agents and to develop new ways of smuggling. He died last year after
plastic surgery.

The Arellano Felix brothers lived very publicly before Ramon was placed on
the FBI list and a reward of $2 million was offered for information leading
to his arrest.

The brothers were often seen at Tijuana's upscale nightclubs and even
appeared on the society pages.

But their fast and violent lifestyle became a liability, particularly after
befriending the sons of some of Tijuana's wealthiest families. Dubbed
``narco-juniors,'' those rich young men proved to be even more violent and
foolhardy than the brothers themselves.

Pumped up on the cocaine they often helped haul across the border, the
juniors killed prosecutors and rivals with machine guns in broad daylight,
inviting more attention than the gang needed.

In one especially brutal killing, Baja California state prosecutor Hodin
Armando Gutierrez Rico was shot more than 100 times outside his Tijuana
home in 1996. The killers drove their van over his body dozens of times.

About two years ago, law enforcers on both sides of the border launched an
offensive against the juniors. Most are dead or behind bars.

In February, U.S. federal authorities indicted 10 members of the gang on a
variety of charges, including drug trafficking and murder.

With Ramon and other leading members of his security force targeted for
arrest, the Arellano Felix gang had no option other than to change its
operating methods, Blancornelas said.

``They really got out of control with all the violence,'' said the editor
and publisher of the feisty weekly Zeta. ``The juniors especially caused
them a lot of problems. They would have become a much more powerful
organization if not for the juniors.''

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Checked-by: Mike Gogulski