SAN DIEGO, April 29 (UPI) -- Benjamin Arellano Felix, a reputed leader of the feared Arellano Felix drug cartel was extradited to the United States, Mexican authorities said Friday.
Arellano Felix was handed over to U.S. marshals in Toluca Friday and flown to Southern California for trial on charges related to the Tijuana-based gang's two-decade run as the dominant force in drug smuggling in the border city.
The San Diego Union-Tribune described Arellano Felix, who has been in a Mexican jail since 2002, as the top executive of the cartel, which has fallen apart in recent years due to law-enforcement pressure and violent challenges from other Mexican gangs.
Benjamin is one of four brothers who ran the Arellano Felix organization with an iron hand. All have been either captured or killed since 2002 as have some of their top lieutenants. The Union-Tribune said the organization has since evolved into a network of smaller cells overseen by Fernando Sanchez Arellano, a nephew of the brothers.
