Mexican drug cartel chief pleads guilty in US

A Mexican drug kingpin pleaded guilty to US federal charges of racketeering and conspiracy to launder money, and could face up to 25 years in prison, court officials said. Benjamin Arellano Felix, former leader of the notorious Arellano Felix Organization (AFO), is due to be sentenced on April 2 by US District Judge Larry Burns in San Diego following a plea deal. "Arellano Felix led the most violent criminal organization in this part of the world for two decades," said US Attorney for the Southern District of California, Laura E. Duffy. "Today's guilty plea marks the end of his reign of murder, mayhem and corruption, and his historic admission of guilt sends a clear message to the Mexican cartel leaders operating today. "The United States will spare no effort to investigate, extradite and prosecute you for your criminal activities," she said. Duffy said the AFO was "long reputed to be one of the most notorious multi-national drug trafficking organizations to ever exist," with operations extending into southern Mexico and Colombia. Arellano Felix "will likely spend his remaining years behind bars in the US, paying for his leadership role in the AFO," she said. In addition, as part of the deal, Arellano-Felix will also forfeit $100 million, and the parties will jointly recommend that he be sentenced to serve 25 years in prison, said a statement by Duffy's office. Arellano Felix was extradited from Mexico to the United States last April, to face charges of drug trafficking, criminal association, money laundering and organized crime. The drug gang leader, who was detained in 2002, led the Tijuana cartel, or Arellano Felix Organization, with his brothers and was considered the "financial and operative brain" of the gang, according to Mexican officials. Arellano Felix had been in a maximum security jail in Mexico since his detention nine years ago, while the United States presented the extradition demand in 2007. The guilty plea was the latest conviction of a top leader of the AFO, including Arturo Paez-Martinez in 2002, Ismael and Gilberto Higuera-Guerrero in 2007, Javier Arellano-Felix in 2007 and Jesus Labra-Aviles in 2010. Duffy said that with Wednesday's plea, "the AFO has been effectively dismantled and no longer poses the same threat to the people of the United States or Mexico." "The plea today marks the end of the Arellano-Felix drug trafficking organization as we know it," said William R. Sherman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in San Diego. "DEA and our law enforcement partners, both domestic and international, have effectively dismantled this once powerful cartel from the top down."