DEA: MEXICAN CARTELS PENETRATE U.S.

WASHINGTON - Top leaders of Mexico's most powerful and perhaps
most violent drug trafficking organization appear to be immune to any
law enforcement effort, a senior U.S. counternarcotics official says.

That assessment was made Wednesday in a report by Drug Enforcement
administrator Thomas Constantine to a Senate panel that monitors
narcotics trafficking.

Constantine cited a number of perceived shortcomings in Mexico's law
enforcement efforts despite an expected endorsement of Mexico's
performance on Friday by President Clinton.

Each year, drug transit and drug source countries are evaluated by the
State Department. Most are "certified" as fully cooperative with U.S.
counternarcotics efforts while the rest are decertified and some are
subject to economic sanctions. Clinton has said Mexico "should not be
penalized."

During his testimony, Constantine sidestepped a question from Sen.
Joseph Biden, D-Del., as to whether he believes Mexico should be
certified. But, he said, there has been a dramatic increase over the
past five years in the penetration of the United States by Mexican
drug cartels.

He also said the corruption in Mexican civilian law enforcement has no
parallel with anything he has seen in 39 years of police work.

Randy Beers, the State Department's top counternarcotics official,
said Mexico deserves credit for a "serious effort" to deal with drug
traffickers, saying it has conducted an "unprecedented antidrug
campaign that, to my knowledge, has never been duplicated" elsewhere.

He added that, proportionally, Mexico earmarks a higher percentage of
its national budget to counterdrug efforts than does the United
States. He also noted that Mexico plans to spend more than $400
million over the next three years to combat narcotraffcking through
high technology.

In his written report to the panel, Constantine said the
Arellano-Felix organization has a cocaine and marijuana distribution
network that has expanded to U.S. cities in the Midwest and East Coast
in recent years.

"In spite of existing U.S. warrants, government of Mexico indictments
and actionable investigative leads provided to Mexico by U.S. law
enforcement, limited enforcement action has taken place within the
last year."

He said there has been a consistent lack of success in obtaining
evidence, locating those indicted and arresting any major figures.

"The few arrests that have been made to date have not included the
leaders and command structure of the Arellano-Felix Organization
syndicate," Constantine said.

"The truly significant principals have not been arrested, and appear
to be immune to any law enforcement efforts."

Constantine also alleged that corruption has impeded efforts to break
up the Caro-Quinero organization, also alleged to be involved in drug
smuggling.

He said the head of the organization, Miguel Angel Caro Quintero, was
able to use "a combination of threats and bribes" to have charges
against him dismissed by a federal judge in Sonora.

"U.S. officials have corroborated the fact that Miguel Caro-Quintero
collaborates with some Mexican law enforcement officials as evidenced
by photographs which have shown him meeting with police officials at
his residence," Constantine said.