MEXICO DENIES BLACKLIST AGENDA

Ottawa -- Re U.S. Targets Canada for Drug Blacklist -- Aug. 14:

1. The government of Mexico has never taken any actions whatsoever aimed at
influencing the American government to add Canada to its list of countries
that are considered "soft" in the war on drugs.

2. Based on the principles that guide our foreign policy, Mexico has always
rejected measures and actions taken unilaterally by any foreign government
which may affect third countries. In that sense, it is absurd to state that
Mexico has "twisted several arms at the State Department" to include Canada
in a list that is not even recognized and has always been rejected by Mexico.

The Mexican government has strongly rejected the unilateral process of
"certification" carried on on a yearly basis by the U.S. government. My
government considers that these actions, far from strengthening the
bilateral collaboration, hinder the dialogue and co-operation needed in
this field.

3. Mexico believes the problem of illegal drug traffic can only be solved
by co-operation among the countries afflicted by this scourge. It is
imperative to orchestrate actions among producing, processing, transit and
consuming countries.

To that end the United Nations organized -- based on an initiative
presented by President Ernesto Zedillo -- an international conference that
concluded that the war against drugs is a shared responsibility.

4. Within the framework of the Organization of American States, Mexico has
been very active in promoting a multilateral evaluation process in which
the 34 members participate. Mexico and Canada have been working
hand-in-hand in this initiative.

5. Mexico and Canada have established a co-operation mechanism against drug
trafficking agreed to in a memorandum of understanding, signed in 1998.
Last December, Mexican Attorney-General Jorge Madrazo met with top Canadian
officials to pursue the bilateral agenda in this field.

At the end of this month, the Interamerican Conference on the Fight Against
Drug Abuse will meet in Ottawa. On that occasion, important issues will be
discussed, such as prevention of consumption, illegal trafficking and money
laundering, among others.

Alfonso Nieto
Press Counsellor