MEXICO BRISTLES AT REPORT OF GENERAL'S LINK TO PROBE

WASHINGTON - The Mexican embassy has formally asked the Clinton administration
to respond to charges from a former U.S. customs official that his
undercover probe into Mexican drug trafficking was shut down after the
name of Mexico's defense minister surfaced.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that the administration ended the
probe several weeks after undercover customs agents were told by
bankers working with Mexico's most powerful cocaine cartel that Gen.
Enrique Cervantes was a client who wanted money laundered.

The customs agents were mystified by the decision to end the
investigation on schedule rather than extend it to explore information
involving Cervantes, particularly in view of intelligence reports
"pointing to corruption at the highest levels of the Mexican
military," the Times said.

In a formal letter Tuesday to the State Department, the Mexican
government denounced "unsubstantiated allegations" against Cervantes
and said the Times article "gives prominence to misleading, biased and
slanderous information against Mexican officials."

Through its embassy in Washington, Mexico also questioned the
credibility of William Gately, a former senior customs agent, now
retired, who ran the undercover operation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Duane Lyons in Los Angeles, one of the federal
prosecutors involved in Operation Casablanca, took exception to
Gately's comments.

"Gately believes our defendants were talking about a high-ranking
Mexican official, but I do not share Mr. Gately's sentiment about
Cervantes' being involved," Lyons said.