MEXICO'S DRUG CERTIFICATION ON THE LINE

Country's Effort Questioned By U.S.

TIJUANA, Mexico -- The murder of Tijuana's police chief could not have come
at a worse time for Mexico: On Wednesday, President Clinton sends Congress
his list of countries that are certified as U.S. allies in the war on drugs,
and Mexico will be on the list.

That will kick off another round of debate in Washington, with some
lawmakers expected to argue that Mexico does not merit certification because
it has not done enough to stop the flow of illicit drugs.

The police chief was gunned down Sunday in an ambush that bears the marks of
organized crime, only days after Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo promised
to get tough on drug smugglers in this booming border area.

Alfredo de la Torre Marquez, police chief in this city across the border
from San Diego, was murdered as he drove alone toward his office from
church. Gunmen in sports utility vehicles opened fire on his Suburban.

Tijuana is home to the Arellano Felix drug organization, Mexico's
second-largest drug cartel. It also is one of the country's biggest transfer
points for U.S.-bound drugs. De la Torre's murder was strikingly similar to
the 1995 murder of a previous police chief that was linked to drug gangs. It
happened on the same road.

CONCERNS RAISED

The de la Torre murder raises ``concerns [in Washington] that Mexico finds
itself in a position where this kind of violence occurs, and no one in an
official capacity can seem to bring those responsible to justice,'' said a
U.S. analyst who works with congressional committees on drug issues and who
spoke on condition he not be named. Each year the U.S. president must
certify the anti-drug efforts of countries where drug trafficking and
production have been a problem. Decertification can lead to trade sanctions
and a loss of economic aid.

Because Mexico is the United States' second most important trading partner,
congressional analysts say Clinton is unlikely to decertify the country,
even though drug seizures are down and authorities have had little effect on
drug-related violence or corruption.

``The Mexican effort against drug smugglers amounts to no more than stopping
cars for random searches,'' said Jesus Blancornelas, editor of the Tijuana
weekly newspaper Zeta and the survivor of an assassination attempt by drug
cartel hit men in 1998. ``There is no real federal investigation or
intelligence effort against drug lords.''

Street skirmishes between drug gangs in Tijuana have killed at least two
dozen people in recent weeks. Eighty murders have been reported this year in
Tijuana.

'WORST' POLICE

``The Mexican police force is one of the worst -- if not the worst -- in
Latin America,'' said a U.S. official who asked not to be identified.

Another U.S. law enforcement official who has worked in the San
Diego-Tijuana region scoffed at Mexican and U.S. claims that the two
countries' agents are working together against drugs.

``There's no way I'd have a Mexican [drug agent] working in my office. It
would be like allowing a spy into our ranks,'' said the official, who also
asked not to be identified.

Every day, U.S. Customs agents in Tijuana intercept about a dozen cars
concealing loads of drugs. Agents say that for every vehicle they catch,
another 10 make it through the border checkpoint.

``We've had some success,'' U.S. Customs Service Commissioner Ray Kelly said
at the border last week as agents stripped enough marijuana and cocaine from
several vehicles to fill two shopping carts. ``But despite what you see
here, there's plenty of stuff that still comes through.''