MEXICO CALLED DRUG TRADE HEADQUARTERS

U.S. Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow said Thursday that Mexican dealers are
among the world's biggest drug traffickers, and the country has become the
world headquarters for the drug trade.

Davidow's language was unexpectedly harsh, considering the support that
U.S. officials have expressed for U.S. certification of Mexico's anti-drug
efforts, and Davidow's own recognition that anti-drug cooperation with
Mexico has improved.

"The fact is that the headquarters of drug trafficking is in Mexico ...
just like the headquarters of the Mafia is in Sicily," Davidow said,
speaking in Spanish before a group of alumni from the University of
Southern California in Mexico City.