U.S. PRAISES MEXICO FOR COOPERATION IN FIGHTING DRUGS

Report Says Efforts Could Slip After Fox Leaves Office

MEXICO CITY - The U.S. government praises Mexico's anti-drug efforts in a
new report, lauding the country for pushing extraditions to an all-time
high, detaining an "impressive" number of drug kingpins, and working to
make federal law enforcement institutions more professional.

"The administration of Mexican President Vicente Fox continued its
unprecedented cooperation with the United States in fighting drug
trafficking and other serious trans-border crimes menacing the cities of
both countries," the State Department said in its annual International
Narcotics Control Strategy Report. The document addresses drug interdiction
efforts around the world for the past year.

A Mexican presidential spokesman said Friday that the findings vindicate
Mr. Fox's policies.

"The report makes justice to the commitment of President Fox's government
in cooperating with the U.S. against narco-trafficking," spokesman Agustin
Gutierrez Canet said. "And we will continue to do so despite some baseless
accusations by some minor unidentified sources from the U.S. who say the
opposite."

The report suggested, however, that State Department officials were
concerned that efforts may slip after Mr. Fox leaves office next year. It
noted that although the Fox administration has proposed a number of policy
changes, "these reforms have not been enacted."

Fox initiatives cited by the report include proposed measures to reorganize
federal law enforcement agencies, create a more professional public
defender system, and introduce oral testimony at criminal trials. Last
month, Mexico had its first public trial in 75 years, a case in
Montemorelos, Nuevo Leon, in which a man was charged with drunken driving
and manslaughter. Judges typically rule in cases based on filed evidence.
There still are no jury trials in Mexico.

"There remain many opportunities during the final year of the Fox
administration to institutionalize this historic cooperation," the report said.

The document also noted that despite the arrests of ranking drug figures,
"no active drug kingpin has been extradited."

As much as 90 percent of cocaine sold in the United States is smuggled
through Mexico, and the country remains one of the largest producers of
marijuana and heroin consumed in the United States, said the report,
released by the Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

The bureau released a battery of numbers associated with Mexico's 2004 drug
interdiction efforts:

More than 25 metric tons of cocaine were seized, up from 20 in 2003, and
1,838 metric tons of marijuana were confiscated, down from 2,019 tons a
year earlier. Other seizures included 270 kilograms of heroin, compared
with 165 in 2003; 435 kilos of opium, vs. 189 the year before; 590 kilos of
methamphetamines, compared with 652 in 2003; and 10,262 people arrested on
drug-related charges, compared with 7,792 a year earlier. Also seized were
1,885 vehicles, 29 boats and 28 aircraft.

In Washington, a watchdog group blasted the State Department report, saying
it failed to address the "lack of progress" in the war on drugs.

"The [report] tells us we've been very busy," said Joy Olson, executive
director of the Washington Office on Latin America, "but not whether our
efforts are making a difference. ...

"The [report] is once again conspicuously silent on exactly how and when
these activities are supposed to translate into measurable progress toward
basic U.S. drug policy goals."