CLINTON BLESSES MEXICO IN DRUG WAR

WASHINGTON - President Clinton has decided to fully
certify Mexico's cooperation with American anti-drug efforts, a ruling
that leaves financial assistance to Washington's southern neighbor
intact.

Clinton found problems with Colombia's counter-narcotics program, but,
acting on the recommendation of Secretary of State Madeleine Albright,
he waived economic sanctions on Bogota for national security reasons.

Afghanistan and Burma were the only major drug-producing or drug-
transiting nations on which Clinton imposed the full sanctions. Iran,
which last year was penalized on the drug front by Washington, was
dropped from the entire process since it no longer has enough acreage
under cultivation for narcotics to qualify as a major drug-producing
nation.

Clinton applied the full penalties last year to Nigeria, where a
dramatic political transformation has begun to unfold after the death
of dictator Gen. Sani Abacha. For that reason, U.S. officials say
there has been some last-minute debate over how to handle Nigeria's
certification.

The 1998 Foreign Assistance Act requires the secretary of state to
provide the president annually with a recommendation on which major
drug-producing or drug-transiting nations are cooperating with U.S.
counter-narcotics efforts. Most forms of assistance are suspended for
nations fund uncooperative, although the president can overrule the
secretarry of state on national security grounds, and the United
States must vote against financing from such multilateral lenders as
the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The 730-page International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, on which
Albright bases her advice to the president, will be released later
today along with the formal announcment on sanctions. But U.S.
officials involved in the certification process, speaking under
conditions of anonymity, revealed some of the findings to United Press
International in advance of the announcement.

The said Clinton gave full certification to Aruba, the Bahamas,
Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, China, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Guatemala, Haiti, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Laos, Malaysia, Mexico,
Panama, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam.

Clinton waived the sanctions on national security grounds against
Cambodia, Colombia, Pakistan and Paraguay.