Jury to Quiz Kin of Ex-Mexico Leader in Camarena Slaying

The brother-in-law of former Mexican President Luis Echeverria will be called before a federal grand jury in Los Angeles that is conducting an ongoing investigation into the 1985 murder of U.S. drug agent Enrique Camarena, federal prosecutors disclosed Monday.

Ruben Zuno Arce, 59, made a brief federal court appearance after being flown to Los Angeles from San Antonio on Monday morning in the custody of U.S. marshals. U.S. District Judge Edward Rafeedie ordered him held without bail pending a bail hearing next Monday.

Zuno Arce, who is married to Echeverria’s sister, was arrested in the Texas city Wednesday night and brought here in response to a warrant issued by Rafeedie.

The judge acted upon the request of federal prosecutors, who said they wanted to question Zuno Arce as “a material witness” in their ongoing investigation of the Camarena slaying.

Subpoena Issued

Monday afternoon, Assistant U.S. Atty. Jimmy Gurule told Rafeedie that he had issued a grand jury subpoena to Zuno Arce and that he also wanted him to testify in the October trial of Juan Jose Bernabe Ramirez, a former Mexican police officer indicted on murder and conspiracy charges here in the Camarena killing.

In a separate proceeding Monday, Bernabe Ramirez pleaded not guilty, and Rafeedie set an Oct. 3 trial date.

James E. Blancarte, one of Zuno Arce’s attorneys, said he wanted his client released on bail. But the government indicated last week that it considers him a flight risk and wants him held without bond.

Blancarte said he believed it was “very unusual” for a “material witness” to be held without bail. But he quickly added, “This is a very unusual case.”

Last year, three men were convicted in the murder of Camarena and his pilot in Guadalajara, Mexico. Indictments are pending against seven other men in the slayings, including Mexican drug kingpins Rafael Caro Quintero and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, both of whom are behind bars in Mexico City, where a murder case against them is pending.

Jeremiah Handy, a San Antonio attorney who also is representing Zuno Arce, said the grand jury subpoena, which calls for his client to testify Aug. 23, indicates that government officials want to ask him about the sale of a home he owned in Guadalajara.

House Sold

According to court documents filed in Texas last week, Zuno Arce sold the house where Camarena was tortured and killed to a doctor just four weeks before the murder. According to the documents, the doctor and his associates sold the house the same day to Caro Quintero.

Handy said prosecutor Gurule told him that the government also wants to question his client about drug trafficking. An affidavit submitted by Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Abel Reynoso in San Antonio on Friday said Zuno Arce has been identified by the agency “as a major narcotics trafficker in the Guadalajara area.”

Handy said Zuno Arce did not know Caro Quintero and denied any involvement in the Camarena murder or in drug trafficking. He also said his client has no prior criminal record.

The attorney said Zuno Arce, who operates lumber and vegetable businesses, came to San Antonio last week to buy parts for his single-engine plane. He said it was the fifth trip his client had made to San Antonio this year on business or personal matters.