MEXICO MUST PROVE TO US IT IS SERIOUS ABOUT DRUG WAR

Last week's discovery of several bodies at a Mexican ranch near the U.S.
border - reports say there could be more than 100 buried there - highlights
the continuing problem of drug smuggling from Mexico to this country, a
problem that historically has been aggravated by rampant corruption in the
Mexican government. The discovery also represents an important test and
challenge for that government.

U.S. officials, including Assistant FBI Director Thomas Pickard, believe the
victims were killed because they knew about drug smuggling, and there is
some evidence to support this suspicion; the bodies were discovered in a
region that has long been a major center of drug trafficking, plagued by
killings and unexplained disappearances.

The Mexican government, which is supposed to be an ally in the war on drugs,
has instead been a longtime ally of drug kingpins, and the Clinton
administration has been unconscionably tolerant of Mexico's behavior. This
year, it certified Mexico as a fully cooperating partner in the war on
drugs, even though the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said
corruption in the Mexican government is so widespread that there was
virtually no one his agents could trust to work with in Mexico.

Some progress has been made in recent years; in 1997, a 32-year prison term
was given to the chief of Mexico's anti-narcotics forces after it was
revealed he and other, lower-ranking officers were on the payroll of the
Juarez drug cartel. In that same year, the head of the Juarez cartel, the
infamous Amado Carillo Fuentes, died after plastic surgery designed to help
him evade capture.

Still, U.S. drug enforcement officials seem virtually unanimous that the
Mexican government is part of the problem, not part of the solution. On
Thursday, the Dallas Morning News quoted former U.S. drug agents as saying
they knew in 1993 of the mass graves now being uncovered but didn't act
because Mexican police and drug traffickers were thought to control the
secret cemeteries.

Mexican officials insist they are doing their best to fight the smugglers.
The test of their sincerity and commitment will be revealed in the next few
days and weeks, when Mexico is called on to cooperate with the FBI in the
investigation of the newly discovered graves. If that cooperation is
vigorous, consistent and productive, then Mexico can claim to be a full U.S.
ally. If not, Mexico will show itself to be an accomplice of murderers.