Mexican Drug Pipeline Leader Arrested

MEXICO CITY--The reputed mastermind of Mexico's vast drug pipeline to the United States was taken in custody yesterday after a huge sweep that included the arrest of his hometown's entire police force, authorities said.

Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, thought to head a ring that shipped up to two tons of cocaine monthly into the U.S., had been sought for years, but was protected by corrupt Mexican officials, according to U.S. drug agents.

Authorities believe Felix Gallardo, who was arrested Saturday night in Guadalajara, may also have been involved in the 1985 slaying of U.S. Jrug agent Enrique Camarena Salazar

"It was clean work, without a single gunshot," said Rene Hernandez, a spokesperson for the federal attorney general. He said the reputed drug lord was flown to Mexico City and was being questioned at a heavily guarded compound.

In a statement, the attorney general's office said the raid by Federal Judicial Police agents was the result of President Carlos Salinas de Gortari's vow to clean up drug dealing and corruption in Mexico.

U.S. authorities welcomed the news of Felix Gallardo's arrest. "We're delighted to hear that. This is most interesting," William Graves, a U.S. embassy spokesperson, said Sunday night.

While Felix Gallardo was being seized in the western state of Jalisco, Mexican army troops were used to swoop down on his hometown of Culiacan, the capital of the northwestern state of Sinaloa, and arrested every police officer on the force.

All but six of about 80 officers were released, but those still held included the police chief and the chief of the Sinaloa state police, a federal official said.

"We regret that people who have a responsibility to society have become involved in these events," said Sinaloa Governor Francisco Labastida Ochoa.

Delia S.A. de C.V., one of Felix Gallardo's numerous businesses, was surrounded by soldiers, and truckloads of soldiers patrolled Culiacan's streets all day Sunday.

An unidentified Honduran woman who was with Felix Gallardo also was arrested, as were several other suspects. All had been or would be flown to Mexico City, Hernandez said. A number of high-powered, weapons also were seized.

Felix Gallardo, 43, was thought to run one of the largest cocaine trafficking operations in the world.

He was known as the godfather and czar of Mexico's drug trade because he reputedly pioneered an alliance with Colombian druglords of the notorious Medellin cartel to move cocaine through Mexico to the U.S.

American officials investigating the killing of Camerena, who had been kidnapped outside the U.S. consulate in Guadalajara, said Felix Gallardo was able to build up an immense operation with protection from high, Mexican officials, including a state, governor.

The flow of drugs has long been a matter of intense dispute between the U.S. and Mexico, and the raids come as the Congress faces a late April deadline for certifying that Mexico is doing its best to combat drug trafficking and so deserves continued U.S. aid.

Some U.S. representatives, including Sen. Jesse Helms, (R-N.C.), have accused Mexico of widespread official corruption and maintain that certification should be denied.