FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AG
TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 1996                          (202) 514-2008
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                STATEMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL RENO

     Yesterday, the Government of Mexico made a breakthrough in
the struggle to disrupt and dismantle a major drug trafficking
organization.  Mexico's arrest of Juan Garcia Abrego on the
evening of January 14, and his expulsion by the government of
Mexico the following day, clearly demonstrate that even those who
have most successfully eluded capture can be brought to justice
by law enforcement entities that act with determination, courage
and vigor.

     Today, I personally conveyed to Mexican Secretary of Foreign
Relations Jose Angel Gurria and Attorney General Antonio Lozano
Gracia, my congratulations for the capture of Garcia Abrego and
to commend the expeditious manner in which the government of
Mexico achieved his removal from Mexico to the United States.

     Garcia Abrego was taken into federal custody yesterday, in
Houston, to face a federal indictment filed in September 1993 in
the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.  The
indictment charges that Garcia Abrego is the leader of one of the
most powerful drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, which,
operating on both sides of the border, is responsible for
transporting tons of cocaine into the United States for the Cali
cartel.  The indictment further alleges that Garcia Abrego
authorized acts of violence, including murder, to promote drug
activities.  Garcia Abrego, who faces a possible sentence of life
imprisonment if he is convicted, was placed on the FBI's list of
"Ten Most Wanted Fugitives" in March of 1995.

     As I expressed to Secretary Gurria and Attorney General
Lozano, this afternoon, I am confident that Mexico's remarkable
achievements in capturing and expelling Garcia Abrego, and the
consequent ability of the United States to pursue these long-
standing and significant charges, will serve the cause of justice
in both Mexico and the United States. 

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96-003