U.S., Mexico Work Together to Arrest Mexican Drug Kingpins
http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-en...
Arellano-Felix drug organization said to now be "in ruins"
By Eric Green
08 June 2004
Washington -- The United States has announced the arrests of two "kingpins" of a notorious Mexican drug-trafficking organization that has carried out
a number of murders and kidnappings over the past several years.
In a June 7 statement, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said U.S. and Mexican law enforcement officers worked together to arrest Jorge
Aureliano Felix and Efrain Perez of the Arellano-Felix criminal organization.
Perez directed and supervised the group's counterintelligence programs and was involved in multiple kidnapping and assassinations, while Felix, a
former Mexican police officer, conducted security operations and collected taxes on behalf of the group from independent drug traffickers operating in
Tijuana, Mexico. Both men face charges in the United States and Mexico.
The DEA said the Arellano-Felix organization transported and distributed multi-ton quantities of cocaine and marijuana, as well as significant
quantities of heroin and methamphetamine, through Tijuana to the San Diego, California, area.
The group is believed to have corrupted Mexican state and municipal police officers and federal police officials. It is also said to be responsible
for more than 100 drug-related murders in the United States and Mexico, including the murders of drug traffickers, suspected cooperators,
uncooperative Mexican law enforcement and military personnel, and members of the Mexican news media who printed stories unfavorable to the
organization.
The DEA has been pursuing members of the Arellano-Felix organization since the 1980s. Seven brothers and four sisters of the Arellano-Felix family
inherited the drug cartel from Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo in 1989 after his arrest for drug trafficking. Gallardo has been indicted in the United
States for his involvement in the 1985 torture and murder in Guadalajara, Mexico, of DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena.
DEA Administrator Karen Tandy said the Arellano-Felix organization is "now in ruins -- one of its leaders is in jail, one is dead, and with these
arrests, two of their criminal viceroys will be brought to justice." Tandy said that along "with our partners in Mexican law enforcement, we are
keeping our promise to hold these kingpins accountable and sending a clear message to any who follow them: 'You're not safe -- you're next.'"
The group used a myriad of methods to smuggle drugs, including concealing loads in commercial and passenger vehicles, using couriers to conceal
smaller amounts on their bodies, transporting drugs through underground tunnels, and using couriers to ride on commercial buses.
Launched in July 2003, "Operation United Eagles" is combining the efforts of the governments of Mexico and the United States to aggressively pursue,
locate, and apprehend indicted members of the Arellano-Felix gang who were operating or living within the United States and Mexico. The U.S.
government has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to arrests of members of the drug cartel, a number of whom remain at
large.
Benigno Reyna, director of the U.S. Marshals Service, said the latest arrests show "that by combining the investigative efforts and expertise" of U.S.
and Mexican law enforcement agencies "we can and will apprehend and bring to justice upper-echelon members of this cartel. We are sending a message to
all narcotics traffickers: you will be indicted, you will be arrested, and your illegal organizations will be dismantled."
Joseph Lewis of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation also emphasized the importance of law enforcement cooperation between the United States and
Mexico.
"Operation United Eagles is a powerful example of the combined efforts of our partners in U.S. and Mexican drug law enforcement," Lewis said. He added
that the coordinated efforts of the U.S. and Mexican law enforcement agencies to "aggressively locate and arrest key leaders of the Arellano-Felix
drug-trafficking organization will have a measurable and historic impact on international drug law enforcement."
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