Drug Queen of the Pacific Nabbed!

By Pamela Mortimer

Even drug traffickers have to eat. Make that "alleged drug traffickers". Sandra Avila Bertran, dubbed "Queen of the Pacific", was arrested Friday by federal agents in the ritzy section Mexico City that housed her favorite restaurant. Beltran’s arrest stemmed from charges that she is reputedly responsible for playing a key role in the shipment of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel.

eltran, 45, is in charge of the cartel’s "public relations" department and allegedly facilitated the shipments from Colombia to Mexico, including nine tons of the drug confiscated from a tuna fishing boat at a Pacific port off the resort of Manzanillo in 2002. It was the Manzanillo seizure that caused authorities to look in Beltran’s direction. Her penchant for a specific Thai restaurant and two high end beauty parlors is what caused her to be nabbed from her BMW SUV in the Polanco section of Mexico City. According to Assistant Public Safety Secretary Patricio Patino, there is an order for Beltran’s extradition to the U.S.

When Beltran was confronted with the charges of drug trafficking, she claimed to be a housewife who makes money through rental properties and selling clothes.

Beltran responded to questions with some hesitation until she was asked why she was being held. Beltran replied, "Because there is an arrest warrant asking for my extradition". The smile she wore could make one believe that she is not terribly worried.

A few hours after Beltran’s arrest, her lover, Juan Diego Espinoza Ramirez, was also apprehended. Allegedly, Ramirez, a.k.a. "The Tiger", is one of the top Colombian drug traffickers and is listed as a fugitive by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in Miami.

"He is one of the most-wanted drug traffickers in Colombia and in Mexico," Patiño said.

Ramirez, 39, has been reported to be second in command for the Colombian Norte del Valle Cartel. The cartel’s leader, Diego Montoya, was arrested three weeks ago in an operation reputed to be the biggest blow to Colombian drug trade since the fall of the legendary Pablo Escobar in 1993.

It is also believed that Beltran and Ramirez worked for Ismael "el Mayo" Zambada Garcia, a man closely associated with alleged Sinaloa Cartel chief Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. Beltran is the only woman among dozens of men suspected to be involved in the cartel. She is also the niece of Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, the so-called godfather of Mexican drug smuggling.

'This woman has been transporting Colombian cocaine into Mexico since the Nineties. She is part of a family that has been dedicated to drug trafficking for three generations,' public safety under-secretary Patricio Patiño said.