MEXICAN EX-LEADER MAY TURN HIMSELF IN

MEXICO CITY -- After almost a year on the run, a former Mexican governor facing drug-trafficking charges has apparently grown weary, offering hints he might surrender.

Mario Villanueva said in an interview with the magazine Milenio he would consider turning himself in if there was agreement not to bring charges against his family or to return some $5 million and other property seized from him.  He denied drug trafficking.

And three sources with direct knowledge of the investigation, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that interview has led to contacts between Villanueva and prominent political figures.

The attorney general's office has not commented on any talks with Villanueva, the only governor known to have been under a formal investigation of drug trafficking.

Villanueva disappeared last March 28, two weeks before the end of his term as governor of Quintana Roo, the state that includes Cancun and one where drug trafficking has been growing.  Officials confirmed he faces charges of trafficking and money laundering, with evidence linking him with the Juarez drug cartel.

Prosecutors allege he allowed cocaine shipments to be moved along the Caribbean coast in return for bribes.  Interpol has been seeking Villanueva abroad, and the federal attorney general's office has hunted him in Mexico.

The sources said negotiations began after Milenio published the interview Feb.  13.  Journalist Isabel Arvide, noted for contacts among political and military figures, quoted Villanueva as saying he was the victim of a political offensive because he rebelled against the wishes of President Ernesto Zedillo.