Suspected female drug lord enthralls Mexico

Avila Beltran charmed police, too
At any rate, both U.S. and Mexican authorities took a closer look and began building a case against Avila Beltran. Officers tracked her to Mexico City, where she frequented a pricey Thai restaurant and had her hair colored jet black and hands manicured in ritzy beauty shops frequented by TV stars.

More than 30 federal agents arrested her Sept. 28 as she drank a cup of coffee at a diner, but she didn’t lose her poise. She charmed investigators into letting her apply makeup before police videotaped her transfer to a women’s jail.

In the footage, Avila Beltran, wearing spiked heels and skintight jeans, tosses her hair and smiles to the camera while walking downstairs on the arm of a federal agent. She then laughingly makes small talk with two female guards handcuffing her.

Hours later, police also caught up with Espinoza Ramirez. He, too, smiles broadly in his mug shot.

Just a housewife, she says
In a videotape of Avila Beltran’s police interrogation, she describes herself as just a housewife who also earns some money by selling clothes and renting houses.

Asked why she is in police custody, she replies with a smirk, “because there is an arrest warrant asking for my extradition.”

The newspaper Milenio reports that “her diva attitude hasn’t changed since she went in” jail, but now “her only luxuries are soap and a blanket.”

Steve Roberts, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Agency, declined to discuss a U.S. extradition request that Mexican officials have confirmed, but he described Avila Beltran as “a significant drug trafficker.”

That shocked Santiago Martinez, a valet parker outside one of the beauty salons used by Avila Beltran. He remembers her as a friendly customer who always asked to have her white Ford Explorer washed.

“There were some customers that I thought could be up to no good, but she never looked suspicious,” Martinez said.

Siobhan Dooley / AP Map locates areas of major drug cartels in Mexico; 2c x 3 1/8 inches; 96.3 mm x 79.4 mm

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