Mexico to Seek Warrants in Suspect’s Kidnaping

The Mexican government said late Saturday that it would seek the extradition of Americans and Mexican citizens in the United States who “executed, planned or organized” the kidnaping of a Guadalajara doctor accused in the 1985 murder of a U.S. drug agent.

The bulletin from the Mexican Foreign Ministry did not say how many people the government sought, nor did it identify them. But on Friday, Mexico’s attorney general had said he would issue an arrest warrant for Antonio Garate Bustamante, a Los Angeles-based Drug Enforcement Administration operative who has admitted to arranging the abduction.

Garate, a former Mexican police officer, told The Times in an interview last week that he arranged to have Dr. Humberto Alvarez Machain abducted in Guadalajara on April 2 and delivered the following day to Los Angeles-based DEA agents waiting in El Paso, Texas.

Garate asserted that the clandestine operation, dubbed “Wild Geese,” was approved by DEA agent Hector Berellez. Berellez heads Operation Leyenda, the investigation into the torture and murder of drug agent Enrique S. Camarena in Guadalajara.

“The Mexican government will immediately initiate proceedings to request the extradition of the people, be they nationals or foreigners, who have participated in the execution, planning or organization of the kidnaping,” the bulletin said.

Mexican Atty. Gen. Enrique Alvarez del Castillo has not placed blame for the kidnaping on the DEA. It is not clear whether Mexico would request the extradition of any DEA officials.

The Foreign Ministry bulletin says that further cooperation between Mexico and the DEA will continue “only insofar as an agreement can be reached on new rules of cooperation and exchange of information . . . “ and that the number of DEA agents in Mexico will be “limited.”

It states that the Mexican government has not received a response to its April 17 diplomatic note delivered in Washington requesting clarification of the Alvarez case.

Mexican federal police have arrested six people in connection with the kidnaping, including two Guanajuato state police officers and a former federal police commander.