DEBATE HEATING UP ON DRUGS, MEXICO

The discovery of mass graves near the border is certain to intensify the
already passionate debate here over whether to continue to work with Mexico
in its drug war or to pull back cooperation and aid.

Mexico's advocates in the United States braced for a renewed effort on
Capitol Hill this winter to have Mexico decertified as a fully cooperating
partner in the war on drugs. Losing its certification could poison Mexico's
relationship with the United States, advocates warn. Nations deemed to be
uncooperative become ineligible for most U.S. foreign aid, and the United
States is required to vote against them when they seek loans from
international finance institutions.

Mexico's annual certification comes up in March. The Clinton
administration's international drug policy experts will prepare a
recommendation to the president on whether to continue the current course.

"We will follow the law, and the law lays out a series of criteria, and
that's exactly what is done every year," said Pancho Kinney, a top
strategist for retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the national drug "czar."

The debate on Capitol Hill is certain to be hot. In 1998, Senate Foreign
Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms called the administration's
decision to certify Mexico a "scam" because "everybody knows" Mexico is not
fully cooperating. Congress has the power to overturn Clinton's ruling.

Arizona's congressional delegation and Gov. Jane Hull generally have
favored keeping the dialogue open with Mexico instead of trying to
embarrass it or prod it into more aggressive action.

"We need to continue. We can't fix this thing by ourselves," Rep. Jim
Kolbe, an Arizona Republican, said this week in an interview. "We have to
have cooperation with Colombia, with Mexico."

Kolbe cautioned against an overreaction to the drug-related burial sites
and to recent reports of increases in cocaine and marijuana seizures along
the Southwest border.

The Clinton administration said "preliminary indications" are that the
killings were done by drug traffickers associated with the Juarez Cartel,
according to an administration memorandum obtained by The Arizona Republic
in Washington.

"What we've seen in recent years is something that was predicted some time
ago: a shift of this (drug) operation from Colombia to Mexico," Kolbe said.
"Now it's not just that trafficking is passing through Mexico, but that
Mexican drug cartels are taking over the entire operation, from its
production in South America, to its selling in the United States."

Buttressing Kolbe's comments was a report submitted to Congress last month
by McCaffrey.

"To sell cocaine acquired from the Colombians, Mexican cartels have
developed their own distribution networks in several U.S. cities," the
report said. It did not identify the cities.

Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo is due to arrive in Washington on Dec. 9
for a working visit unrelated to the investigation.