By Kevin Sullivan and Mary Jordan
Washington Post Foreign Service

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.

Asa Hutchinson, head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, 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 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 the death of Ramon Arellano Felix -- whose photo appears alongside Osama bin Laden's on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list -- 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 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 that was shown to reporters today, Arellano Felix 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 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 beneath 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.

Staff writer John Lancaster in Washington contributed to this report.

                                               © 2002