Mexico taking big steps to fight drug war despite
corruption, U.S. report says

Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON The White House, in an eagerly awaited report,
has concluded that the war against drugs is still hampered
by corruption and lack of punishment of drug criminals in
Mexico.

But the Clinton administration insists in its study that the
Mexican government has taken significant steps to improve
its performance. And the report, largely drafted by the
office of federal drug czar Gen. Barry McCaffery, maintains
that Mexico's movement toward democracy described as a
"process of profound political transition" eventually
will help make the country a strong partner with the United
States in battling drug trafficking.

The report, delivered to a few key senators Monday night and
obtained by the Los Angeles Times, is to be released today.
It is an outgrowth of the controversial process that
requires the administration to punish major drugproducing
or drugtransiting countries unless U.S. officials certify
every year that these nations are cooperating in the war on
drugs.

Several members of Congress protested when the
administration certified Mexico early this year despite drug
scandals involving past and present Mexican officials. One
case led to the arrest of Mexico's own drug czar.

But Congress could not agree on overturning the
certification, and President Clinton escaped the major
embarrassment of Congress punishing Mexico on the eve of his
visit there in May. As a goodwill gesture, he agreed to a
suggestion that he deliver an interim report on Mexico's
progress in the drug war.

A Mexican government official familiar with the report said,
"If you follow the report from top to bottom, you see how it
stresses the increasing cooperation of the two governments."

For instance, the report hails Mexico for recent laws that
have made it a crime to launder money, and it notes that the
Mexican government has made it easier for U.S. law
enforcement officials to prevent planes from transporting
drugs into this country. In some cases, Mexico has even
allowed U.S. planes to pursue narcoticstransport planes
over Mexican air space.

But, the report goes on, "Mexico's law enforcement
institutions are afflicted by corruption and in some
instances have been penetrated by the very cartels they seek
to target."

"Mexican counterdrug authorities face an uphill struggle
against widespread corruption," the report says. "Drug
trafficking criminals use their immense wealth, power, and
capacity for violence to bribe or otherwise neutralize the
effectiveness of law enforcement and other government
officials."

Even here, however, the report sees hope, declaring that the
government of President Ernesto Zedillo has worked hard to
deal with this corruption by launching investigations,
dismissing corrupt officials and setting up new systems for
screening government personnel.