U.S. OFFERS DELEGATION DRUG-TRAFFICKING HELP

Attorney General John Ashcroft met with Mexico's national security
adviser Wednesday in Washington and praised Mexico for dismantling a
regional drug-trafficking cell operating near the Texas border.

``We're aware of what you're doing and willing and ready if our
assistance was necessary,'' Ashcroft told Adolfo Aguilar Zinser and a
delegation of Mexican national security officials. ``I just wanted
you to know that it was noted.''

Aguilar Zinser said he hoped Mexico and the United States could begin
to work more cooperatively to fight organized crime and drug
trafficking.