CLINTON TO MEET WITH MEXICAN CHIEF

President Clinton is set to take his first post-impeachment trial
trip tomorrow, traveling to Mexico to meet President Ernesto Zedillo
amid signs Clinton will renew certification of Mexico as a U.S. drug-
fighting ally.

The meetings scheduled for tomorrow and Monday in the Yucatan city of
Merida are expected to produce agreements in a number of areas,
including new steps to fight drug smuggling and measures to limit
violence and pollution along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border, U.S.
officials said.

The two leaders also are expected to hail benefits of the North
American Free Trade Agreement five years after United States, Canada
and Mexico entered into the pact, and discuss Mexico's recovery from a
financial crisis three years ago and its progress toward greater democracy.

The summit takes place amid increasing pressure from Congress and
other sources for the United States to crack down on Mexican drug
smuggling and its associated government corruption by having Clinton
"decertify," or blacklist, Mexico as a drug-fighting ally.
Decertification would cut off U.S. economic and trade benefits.

"Right now, certification is casting a long shadow on the bilateral
relationship. Everything is being viewed through the lens of
certification," said Delal Baer, a Mexico expert with the Center for
Strategic and International Studies.

The visit is Clinton's first trip since the Senate acquitted him in
his impeachment trial yesterday. Clinton is expected to face at least
some questions from reporters on the issue during a photo opportunity
with Zedillo Monday.

The administration's decision on certification is due March 1. U.S.
officials say no recommendation has been made by Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright. But officials have also stressed they believe
Zedillo has made a big effort to fight drug smuggling, and made some
progress. "I think everyone thinks it's in the best interests of the
United States to continue to cooperate with Mexico," said a U.S. official.

"{Anti-drug} cooperation with Mexico is very strong at every level.
President Zedillo has made this a top priority . . . I don't think
anyone can question his courageous leadership in tackling what is an
enormous problem," the official said.

National Security Adviser Sandy Berger yesterday told reporters, "It's
important to remember what the purpose of certification is and what it
is not. It is not to measure the extent of Mexico's problems. It is
intended to assess the extent of its cooperation with us in overcoming
them. President Zedillo is clearly trying to establish a clean
government and respect for the rule of law."

But members of Congress have turned up the pressure on Mexico, citing
continued government corruption and setbacks in seizing drugs, and
raised the prospect of overturning any recertification decision by
Clinton.

Asked whether Clinton might be planning to brace Zedillo for a
possible decertification, James Dobbins, senior director of Inter-
American affairs for the National Security Council, said, "Insofar as
I'm aware, there's no intention to discuss the matter in those terms."