Sawt Falasteen - Flowers, music, and soldiers at funeral of drug lord

The remains of the man who led the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel -- he was the US government's most-wanted drug trafficker -- presumably lay in a gold-colored coffin, AFP observed through rings of federal security forces at the scene.

Famous drug lords in Mexico are often buried in opulent mausoleums but Oseguera's final resting place is a plain plot in a cemetery next to a military post outside Guadalajara. The site is about five kilometers (three miles) from a stadium due to host four World Cup games this summer.

On Saturday, federal prosecutors handed Oseguera's body over to his family, which took it from Mexico City to Guadalajara for burial in the suburb of Zapopan.

Oseguera, alias "El Mencho," for whom the US government had offered a $15 million bounty, was fatally wounded in a raid by elite Mexican troops on February 22 in a country club in the western state of Jalisco.

A soldier who requested anonymity explained to AFP that since then the body had been guarded around the clock "so that rival groups do not defile him."

-Flowers and a band-

Starting Sunday the funeral home holding his body was surrounded by dozens of soldiers, national guardsmen, and police who interrogated anyone who came close.

The security forces dissuaded curious onlookers but did not halt an endless stream of floral bouquets sent to pay tribute to Oseguera. One had angel wings made of red roses and another looked like a rooster -- a nod to his love of cockfighting.

Almost all of the flowers were sent anonymously. There were so many that five trucks were required to take them to the cemetery, a local journalist told AFP.

Earlier, eight people in black, presumably Oseguera's family members, rode in two cars that followed the white hearse with his remains to the graveyard.

A dozen military and National Guard vehicles took the lead alongside two police motorcycles to escort the caravan to the cemetery, where it arrived just before noon.

The grounds had been sealed off by dozens of soldiers.

-A 'handful of dirt' -

The coffin was brought to a chapel where a band known for "narcocorridos," traditional songs inspired by the lives of druglords, awaited the mourners.

Following an hourlong ceremony, the coffin was returned to the hearse and brought to the grave while a dozen mourners followed on foot to the sounds of a song with these lyrics: "Now that I'm dead I'm going to go away, no more than a handful of dirt."

Besides Oseguera, eight of his escorts were killed during his capture. Upon learning of their leader's death, cartel gunmen retaliated across Mexico, blocking highways, burning down businesses, and opening fire on security forces. The violence in 20 of Mexico's 32 states left 70 people dead.

Z.AlNajjar--SF-PST