MEXICO DECLARES 'TOTAL WAR' ON DRUGS

Government: The high-tech effort comes as U.S. lawmakers begin debate on
that country's certification.

Mexico City-Unveiling a new armada of high-tech weapons from satellites to
radar-equipped speedboats, the Mexican government Thursday declared "total
war" on drug trafficking, just as U.S. lawmakers begin the annual debate
over whether to certify Mexico as a good ally in the war on drugs.

At a joint briefing with the country's attorney general, defense minister
and navy secretary, Mexican Interior Minister Francisco Labastida said
President Ernesto Zedillo has decided to combat drug trafficking "with all
the power of the law and the government" because "drugs constitute the
greatest threat to our national security."

Labastida outlined an eight-point plan that includes beefing up
communications among local police and the 13 Mexican federal agencies with
drug-enforcement responsibilities, as well as interdicting drugs before
they enter Mexico from Central and South America.

Recent U.S. reports back up what street-level drug agents in Mexico have
been saying for almost a year: Traffickers are becoming more diverse in
their choice of smuggling means and routes, shipping more drugs into the
United States via air and water from Mexico's Caribbean coast and remote
spots in Baja California.

The Mexico officials said Wednesday that this nation will spend about $500
million on an array of satellite-communications technology, aircraft, naval
vessels, and training of new police and military agents.

Drug-money laundering has also become more of a headache for Mexico, as
evidenced by a slew of recent arrests. The U.S.run Operation Casablanca
sting operation snared Mexican bank officials who were handling money for
drug traffickers.

More recently, new evidence - and Mexican government investigations -
suggests that some high-ranking Mexican politicians are linked to
drug-running.

The most recent accusations have been lobbed at Mario Villanueva, governor
of the tourist-dependent state of Quintana Roo on the Yucatan peninsula,
from which more and more drugs are heading for U.S. cities, according to
government reports on Mexican drug activities. Villanueva has vigorously
denied any links to traffickers.

Although Mexican leaders said the roll-out of the ambitious two-year plan
to combat narcotics trafficking has nothing to do with the U.S.
certification process, analysts who follow the illegal drug trade said the
timing was intended as a clear message to the U.S. Congress. In March,
after receiving reports from the Clinton administration on whether it
recommends certifying the drug-fighting efforts of almost 30 countries,
Congress will weigh efforts by those countries to fight drugs.

Decertification could lead to trade sanctions and restrictions on U.S. aid,
and there is a split in Washington over how to evaluate Mexico's
performance in the drug war. State Department and White House officials are
said to believe Mexico is doing better in such efforts, while Drug
Enforcement Agency and U.S. Customs Service officials are quietly
suggesting that Mexico is not worthy of certification.

Despite the obvious timing, Mexican government officials insist the
increase in anti-drug activity is solely for the benefit of the Mexican
people.

"We don't do these things because they serve the interests of the United
States," said Juan Rebolledo, Mexico's deputy foreign minister in charge of
U.S. relations. "We do this because (drugs) hurt us here. It corrupts from
within."

Drug-trade analysts say Mexico is much better at fighting drugs than many
other Latin American countries - the source of more than two-thirds of the
cocaine, marijuana and heroin consumed in the United States.

"The timing of these moves is all about certification," said Peter Reuter,
a professor at the University of Maryland's School of Public Affairs. "But
the reality is the Mexico, apart from the certification process, is taking
the drug problem more seriously. Other countries don't care, except when
the United States is yelling at them about drug production."

Yet for all of the money Mexico is about to spend to invigorate its war on
drugs, few experts are convinced that high-tech gadgets like satellite
trackers and X-ray machines that can spot drugs inside trucks and other
vehicles will turn the tide.

"There is a history of hardware not making much of a difference," Reuter
said. "You can't dismiss technology, but nothing beats good human
intelligence. ... For all of the high-tech equipment we in the United
States use, the price of cocaine and heroin continues to come down,
indicating a greater supply."