Mexican woman is world's first female drug lord

Mexico City: A Mexican woman is believed to have become the world's first female to head a drug cartel, Prensa Latina news agency reported.

Enedina Arellano Felix is considered by US anti-drug authorities to be the head of the Tijuana cartel, according to Mexican magazine Proceso.

The cartel is one of the most powerful and violent in the country, with connections to several Central and South American countries.

The organisation controls the flow of cocaine, marijuana and other drugs into the US in the border areas of Tijuana and Mexicali, the El Universal newspaper said.

Benjamin Arellano Felix - considered the leader and mastermind of the cartel - has been extradited to the US, while three of his five brothers are serving prison sentences, one has died and the other is in hiding.

In a special report, Proceso magazine described the life of a woman nicknamed "La Jefa", "La Madrina" or "La Narcomami" - all aliases of Enedina - saying she became the brain of the family business in 2000.

She leads the outfit's money laundering operations, it said.