MEXICO DRUG CERTIFICATION EYED

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Clinton made a mistake in certifying Mexico as
a fully cooperative ally in the war against illegal drug trafficking, two
House Republicans say.

Now Reps. Clay Shaw and John Mica, both of Florida, have introduced a bill
to reverse that decision.

``For the president to call Mexico a 'partner' in the war on drugs is
outrageous,'' Shaw said Wednesday. ``A significant amount of the drugs on
our streets and in our neighborhoods continues to come from Mexico. We must
take this step to show the Mexican government that we take anti-drug
efforts with dead seriousness.''

The bill was announced a day after Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and
Sen. Paul Coverdell, R-Ga., introduced a similar bill in the Senate.

``While Mexico has made some limited progress, there remain gaping holes in
its counternarcotics effort,'' Feinstein said Tuesday.

The annual certification process regularly offends officials in Mexico, who
call it an insult that infringes on their sovereignty.

The president must decide each year by March 1 whether to certify Mexico
and other nations as cooperating partners in efforts to stop the production
or shipment of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and other drugs from their
countries. Foreign governments that are not certified face the loss of U.S.
aid.

Congress has 30 days to decide whether to reverse the president's decision.
Both bills would allow the president to waive sanctions against Mexico
despite decertification, however.

A spokesman for the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy
said the bills are likely to fail -- as they have previously. The United
States stands to gain more through continued cooperation, said spokesman
Bob Weiner.