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One of DEA's Most Wanted Drug Lords in Custody; Of Suspects & SNAFUs; Know Your Enemy?

Aired August 16, 2006 - 13:59   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It's the top of the hour. We're talking about an infamous Mexican drug lord. One of the DEA's most wanted is out of circulation.
Let's get straight to the newsroom now.

Carol Lin has been following all the details on this developing story -- Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Kyra, we are expecting a live press conference around 2:00 p.m. from the DEA's office to hear more about this, but we are learning more details.

The name, Javier Arellano-Felix. He is a reputed Mexican drug lord on the DEA's most wanted list. There was a $5 million reward issued for information to his arrest. And sources are telling CNN -- officials familiar with the operation say that federal agents learned through intelligence that this infamous fugitive was to board a boat called the Doc Holliday off the coast near La Paz, along with some other key members of his drug cartel.

Now, the DEA is saying that this boat was about 15 miles off the Mexican coast and the Coast Guard was ordered to intercept it. The meeting on this boat was with allegedly some -- some cartel assassins who are going to be used right now as material witnesses.

So, this is early reporting to CNN from sources. We're going to learn more about this -- this takedown of this alleged head of this drug cartel. But, Kyra, he is formally going to be charged facing felony counts of producing and exporting massive amounts of cocaine and marijuana.

And you remember that underground tunnel that was discovered between Mexico and San Diego?

PHILLIPS: Right. We talked about it. We actually went inside there and did a number of stories on that tunnel.

LIN: Right. And shocking, especially in these post-9/11 days, that a tunnel could be built from Mexico all the way into the United States. Who knows how -- how much of his drug operation ran through that tunnel. But we're going hear more as soon as we hear from the Justice Department, the Drug Enforcement Agency, shortly.

PHILLIPS: We'll take it live.

LIN: You bet.

PHILLIPS: 2:00 Eastern hour right now. As soon as it happens, we'll take it.

Thanks, Carol.

Formal charges are still up in the air, so it's up to a judge in London to decide whether suspects in the airline bomb plot should stay locked up.

In the meantime, British airport screeners may have some explaining to do after other security scares.

CNN's Dan Rivers is following a number of stories for us. He joins me live now from Scotland Yard.

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you say, we're still waiting for news on the 23 suspects who have appeared in court in London via video link. Today the judge deciding whether they should be detained for a further period of time. The police will be presenting their evidence, what they've got on these suspects, before the judge and whether that period of detention should be extended.

Meanwhile, as you say, there have been a couple of incidents emanating from London today. One involving a United Airways plane flying from Heathrow that was supposed to go into Washington, had to be diverted into Boston after an incident aboard with -- with a woman, a 60-year-old woman, we understand.

There were concerns that she had a number of items with her, including a tub of Vaseline, a screwdriver, matches. We don't think now that that is terror related, but it highlights how jittery everyone is and how did she get those items aboard.

And also, this morning, a 12-year-old boy managed to get on to a plane from Gatwick to Portugal without a passport or a boarding pass. Again, raising questions about the security regime that is supposed to be having been stepped up here, and people will be asking how he got aboard without the documents.

PHILLIPS: All right.

Dan Rivers live from Scotland Yard.

We'll continue to check in with you as you get new developments.

Meanwhile, before 9/11, most Americans couldn't have picked Osama bin Laden out of a lineup, which -- much less Mohamed Atta. So how can law enforcement spot the next terrorists before they strike?

CNN's Deborah Feyerick has more on the deadly challenge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the face of the enemy, a face that has come to symbolize the threat against America. The terrorism did not start with Osama bin Laden and experts say it will not end once he's gone.

(on camera): Some people think get rid of Osama bin Laden and you get rid of terror.

SAJJAN GOHEL, TERRORISM EXPERT: Terrorism has gone beyond one individual. It doesn't actually now matter whether bin Laden is captured or killed.

FEYERICK: The reason it doesn't matter, says security analyst Sajjan Gohel, is because al Qaeda is just one of dozens of groups determined to attack the United States. The State Department has identified some 40 known foreign terrorist organizations that have targeted U.S. interests in the last five years.

Steven Emerson is an authority on Islamic extremism.

STEVEN EMERSON, TERROR INVESTIGATOR: There is no doubt that bin Laden was ultimately responsible for 9/11 and therefore it needed to be villain number one. But we did this at the expense of ignoring other terrorist groups.

FEYERICK: Indeed, in this latest threat, the jetliner plot, intelligence sources on both sides of the Atlantic pointed to potential al Qaeda connections. Those sources telling CNN two of the British suspects traveled to Pakistan to meet with a suspected al Qaeda explosives expert. Another appears to have trained at an al Qaeda camp.

EMERSON: After every attack, the U.S. government tries to find out whether it was al Qaeda or not, somehow believing that if it was not al Qaeda, there's a certain sigh of relief that they can breathe. This is a false distinction. If it's not al Qaeda, it's another group with the same ideology.

FEYERICK: Officials believe as many as 20,000 men from around the world visited al Qaeda camps but only very few took bin Laden's loyalty oath. That may explain why, as in the alleged airliner plot in Britain, officials believe America's biggest threat is likely from within, what Gohel calls "do it yourself terrorism."

GOHEL: You have groups that act independently that will sometimes try and adopt their own type of mass casualty spectacular attack.

FEYERICK: In the last year, U.S. authorities have uncovered plots in Illinois, Florida and California, all allegedly conceived by men born in the USA.

GOHEL: We're now witnessing stage two of what Osama bin Laden has envisioned, groups throughout the world that have their own capability of launching an attack.

FEYERICK: The face of the enemy perhaps even more dangerous now because authorities are no longer sure what it looks like.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, London. (END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: And you can join us Wednesday night, August 23rd, for a special "CNN PRESENTS." "In the Footsteps of bin Laden," it's a "CNN PRESENTS" special investigation. Our team actually traveled to four continents and 10 countries to discover the real Osama bin Laden and his power over legions of drones who do his deadly bidding every day.

Wednesday night, August 23rd, at 9:00 Eastern, only on CNN.

Israeli soldiers out, gradually. Lebanese soldiers in, presently. The Lebanese cabinet today decided to send its army to the southern part of the country starting tomorrow. It's a key demand, the U.N.-mandated truce that ended more than a month of fighting with Israel.

The cabinet says the Lebanese troops won't clash with Hezbollah, which the U.N. insists be disarmed.

How's he doing? It's the question everyone is asking after former President Ford is admitted to the Mayo Clinic.

Well, CNN's Brianna Keilar is in Rochester, Minnesota, with the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Former President Gerald Ford is at the Mayo clinic for testing and evaluation. That is the official word coming from the Mayo Clinic representatives, as well as the former president's aide. They are not being specific about what exactly what those tests are for.

We do know that former President Ford has been in the hospital several times in recent years. In 2000, he suffered a mild stroke during the Republican National Convention, and in 2003 he suffered a dizzy spell while playing golf in 96-degree heat.

More recently, in December, he was admitted to the hospital, but one of his aides says that was for tests that had already been scheduled. But that was not the case in January. Suffering from pneumonia, he was admitted to the hospital for 12 days. And then more recently, in July, he was admitted for shortness of breath.

As far as we can tell at this point, this admittance into the Mayo Clinic is the first time that the former president has gone to a hospital in recent years that is not near one of his home communities in Colorado or California. And at this point, Mayo Clinic officials telling us that no further releases or updates are anticipated before early next week.

Brianna Keilar, CNN, Rochester, Minnesota.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: Well, an infamous Mexican drug lord has been captured by U.S. authorities. You're going to hear how the Coast Guard took him down. We are expecting a press conference from the DEA's office. Also, our Carol Lin following all the details as we're getting them.

We'll bring that conference to you live.

Plus, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has a lot on his mind, and now he's sharing it online.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): He tells about his childhood, some Iranian history, asks if readers think the U.S. and Israel are trying to start World War II and, of course, he calls America "The Great Satan."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Our Tom Foreman takes a look straight ahead on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And we're waiting for this news conference from the DEA's office to start any minute now.

Actually, it looks like it's going to start right now. We're talking about a Mexican drug lord captured by the Coast Guard.

Let's listen in.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

PAUL J. MCNULTY, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: ... Admiral Thad Allen, the commandant of the Coast Guard, and Michael Braun, the assistant administrator for operations of the Drug Enforcement Administration.

We are here today to announce the apprehension of one of the world's major drug traffickers. The Arellano-Felix organization is the largest and most violent drug trafficking organization operation in the Tijuana-Baja -- California-Mexico area.

Eleven individuals representing the top hierarchy of the Arellano-Felix organization, including Francisco Javier Arellano- Felix, were named in an indictment unsealed on July 8, 2003, in the Southern District of California.

The indictment charges these individuals with racketeering offenses, conspiracy to import and distribute cocaine and marijuana, and a conspiracy to commit money-laundering.

The indictment carries penalties of up to life in prison. And, in addition, it includes forfeiture of almost $300 million.

The indictment also alleges that the leadership of the Arellano- Felix organization -- I'll refer to it as AFO -- negotiated directly with Colombian cocaine trafficking organizations, including the FARC, for the purchase of multi-ton shipments of cocaine, and received those shipments by sea and air in Mexico, and then arranged for smuggling of the cocaine into the United States.

The indictment specifies the role of Francisco Javier Arellano- Felix in the enterprise as one who participated in the most major decisions of the AFO, and specifies that he was in charge of the organization's Tijuana and Mexicali operations after the arrest in Mexico of a co-defendant back in May of 2000.

The indictment also alleges that the Arellano-Felix organization recruited, trained and armed groups of body guards and assassins responsible for protecting the leaders of the organization and for conducting assassinations of rival drug traffickers, suspected cooperators and Mexican law enforcement and military personnel, along with members of the news media.

The charges specifically allege 20 murders in the United States and Mexico that were carried out by the Arellano-Felix organization.

Now, in addition to that indictment, which as I said was unsealed July 8th, 2003, information developed during a 14-month fugitive investigation revealing that AFO leader Francisco Javier Arellano- Felix and others were expected to use the fishing vessel Doc Holiday, a U.S.-documented vessel.

And so on August 14th, just two days ago, DEA received information that this vessel, Doc Holiday, was approximately 15 nautical miles off the sure of La Paz, Mexico. And acting on this lead, the DEA requested that the United States Coast Guard interdict the vessel.

Following the interdiction of the vessel in international waters, a boarding took place by the U.S. Coast Guard personnel, and eight adults and three juveniles were discovered on board and detained. One of the individuals aboard the vessel who was traveling under an alias later identified himself as the same Francisco Javier Arellano- Felix that I have described in this indictment.

He is a CPOT, meaning he is a person who has been designated on a consolidated priority organization target list. All 11 individuals are being transported by the Coast Guard to San Diego.

Francisco Javier Arellano-Felix will be arraigned in the very near future, on the indictment.

This case is the result of extraordinary coordination and cooperation between the governments of Mexico and the United States. I especially want to thank Mexican attorney general, Daniel Cabeza de Vaca for his leadership and partnership in these efforts.

It takes teamwork like this in order to accomplish such a significant arrest.

I also want to give special recognition to the United States Attorney's office in the Southern District of California for the charges that were pending, that led to the arrest of the fugitive, and to the men and women of the drug enforcement administration and the U.S. Coast Guard for its courageous and devoted work.

I now would like to introduce Mike Braun from the Drug Enforcement Administration.

PHILLIPS: Huge coup not only for the Justice Department, but also the United States Coast Guard, after it had the ability to take down this infamous Mexican drug lord, one of the DEA's most wanted.

You're seeing there on this reward poster that was out, Javier Arellano-Felix captured. We're learning more details about the power behind this -- this drug lord, in addition to family members and those with whom he worked.

Kelli Arena, our justice correspondent, also following this.

Kelli, what do you know? What more do you know about the ties to Tijuana and how powerful and how violent these kingpins are and were?

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Kyra, with all the attention on potential terrorism acts and so on, you know, this other war that the U.S. is fighting, the drug war, you know, sometimes gets put to the back burner. But this is a coup, as you said, for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

This was one of their most wanted individuals, you know, one of the top. This cartel named for he and his brother, Eduardo, the Arellano-Felix cartel, one of the most violent and dangerous drug cartels in the world.

As you heard from the deputy attorney general, we're talking about assassinations. We're talking about moving tons of cocaine and marijuana across the border. We're talking about dealings with organizations like the FARC in South America.

You know, this -- this -- you know, we can think back to the '80s and the Medellin drug cartels of Colombia and so on. These guys top the cake. If the allegations against these individuals are true, Kyra, we are talking about the baddest of the bad in terms of the drug trade.

PHILLIPS: So, I mean, any kind of sense of how this could affect day-to-day lives of those that are dealing drugs in the United States, how they get their drugs? I mean, can we even look ahead or say what kind of impact it would make?

ARENA: Well, I think -- I think -- I think with any organization, if you have one of the top people taken down -- and apparently there were some other individuals that were also on that fishing vessel, seven other adults -- some of those people, according to officials, allegedly some of the assassins that this organization had trained. So, whenever you lose that kind of talent from an organization, whenever you lose some of the top people, obviously it's going to make a dent in operations. Unfortunately, his brother, Eduardo, is still at large. And, according to officials, is as much involved in the running of this cartel as his brother was.

So, lots of people still out there. And, you know, Kyra, the one thing that this country has been dealing with forever is that the demand still exists. You know, demand for these drugs is as great as ever in the United States. And as long as that is a fact, there will be people to meet it.

PHILLIPS: Kelli Arena, thanks for the insight.

Well, they rushed to save lives at the World Trade Center. Some never made it back. Now their voices are heard again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, a problem passenger forces an itinerary change for United Airlines 923. Here's what we know about the flight from London that was diverted to Boston.

It is expected to arrive at Dulles airport outside Washington about 4:00 Eastern, five hours behind schedule. The pilot landed in Boston after a 60-year-old female passenger reportedly kicked up a fuss.

Well, on the ground, FBI agents questioned everyone and checked every piece of luggage. They tell CNN that there was no security threat. And on its Web site, United attributes the delay to customer service.

Yesterday we told you about a huge recall on Dell laptop batteries. Now similar batteries are getting a closer look from the government.

Cheryl Casone is live from the New York Stock Exchange with all the details.

(BUSINESS REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Well, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has a lot on his mind, and now he's sharing it online.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN (voice over): He tells about his childhood, some Iranian history, asks if readers think the U.S. and Israel are trying to start World War III, and, of course, he calls America "The Great Satan."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Our Tom Foreman takes a look straight on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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