CLINTON TO DISCUSS DRUG WAR, TRADE IN MEXICO

MERIDA, Mexico, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Mexican leaders prepared to welcome U.S.
President Bill Clinton on Sunday for talks that will focus heavily on the
two countries' strained alliance in the drug war.

Clinton was due to arrive in the Yucatan city of Merida at 6 p.m. local
time (7 p.m. EST) (0000 GMT Monday) for his first foreign trip since being
acquitted by the U.S. Senate on Friday of impeachment charges in the Monica
Lewinsky scandal.

President Ernesto Zedillo was to meet with Clinton later on Sunday and Monday.

Mexico is bristling over the annual U.S. process of certifying allies in
its war on drugs even though there are indications that the Zedillo
government will not be blacklisted.

The Clinton administration will report to the U.S. Congress within two
weeks on the extent of cooperation received from nations viewed as major
producers of drugs or routes for illegal narcotics entering the United States.

Mexican Foreign Minister Rosario Green told reporters ahead of the Clinton
visit that the U.S. anti-drug certification process was not appropriate for
Mexico. She said it "is frankly against the spirit of collaboration that
should exist between our two countries, our governments and our peoples."

Decertification could mean a loss of some trade and economic benefits.

U.S. officials estimate that two-thirds of Colombian cocaine landing on
U.S. streets crosses Mexican territory, and they note that Mexico is also a
major producer of marijuana, opium and amphetamines.

Clinton administration officials have indicated they believe Zedillo's
government is making some progress in stemming the flow of illegal drugs,
an indication that Mexico will remain in good standing in the U.S.
anti-drug effort.

But some members of Congress and others in the United States want Clinton
to step up pressure on Mexican drug smuggling and drug-related police and
government corruption by decertifying the country as an ally in the drug war.

Many Mexicans view the certification process as an arrogant, one-sided
exercise by the United States. Mexico's U.S. critics "ignore that the
growth in drug trafficking is a product of the booming market represented
by the millions of addicts living in U.S. territory," Mexico City's El
Universal daily said in a weekend editorial.

Amid the certification controversy, Clinton and Zedillo are expected to
announce new steps to fight drug smuggling, including a recently unveiled
Mexican programme that will include high-tech systems for uncovering drugs
in vehicles crossing the 2,000-mile (3,300-km) U.S.-Mexico border.

The two are also likely to praise progress made in the five years of the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among the United States, Mexico
and Canada.

"I'm under the impression that it will be a very positive conversation (on
NAFTA) because the results measured in increased trade and investment have
been positive," Green said.

The Mexico-U.S. talks will also touch on ways to protect the lives of
undocumented Mexicans crossing the border, after a surge in deaths from
dehydration, exposure and drowning.

Clinton and Zedillo will also address ways to help Central American nations
recover from Hurricane Mitch.