MEXICO-U.S. DRUG EFFORTS HURT BY STING, DISTRUST

Mexican officials complained on Tuesday that an undercover U.S. sting
operation in Mexico and annual evaluations of Mexican trustworthiness were
not helping cooperation in the war on drug traffickers.

At the start of a drug strategy meeting, the Mexicans also asked for steps
to stop confidential information exchanged by the two governments being
leaked to the U.S. and Mexican press.

Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Rosario Green said the efforts of the two
nations to fight the drug war has suffered "significant setbacks."

She was referring to Operation Casablanca, in which U.S. agents acting
behind the Mexican government's back broke a money-laundering ring involving
Mexico's leading banks.

Mexican Attorney General Jorge Madrazo said the "lack of communication" had
"severely strained" cooperation between the two countries.

"In our joint efforts, we demand respect and reciprocity," Green told the
meeting led by Attorney General Janet Reno and White House Drug Policy
director, Gen. Barry McCaffrey.

Mexico saw the three-year sting operation as a violation of its national
sovereignty and has mulled over the idea of seeking the extradition of U.S.
Customs agents who operated in Mexico without the government's
authorisation.

Such an extradition request would likely lead to Washington blacklisting
Mexico in its annual evaluation of the anti-drug efforts of countries that
are major sources of narcotics.

Earlier this month, the Clinton administration listed Mexico among 27
nations, plus Hong Kong, that it considers major drug-producing or
drug-transit countries. It must report to Congress on these countries
anti-drug records by March 1.

U.S. officials believe that two-thirds of the South American cocaine
consumed in the United States come through Mexico, along with marijuana and
methamphetamines.

Mexico has never been blacklisted by Washington despite widespread
corruption among its police and the critical eye of U.S. politicians, who
fault Mexico for not doing enough to stop drugs flowing across a shared
2,000-mile (3,000-km) border.

The Mexican government rejects the U.S. evaluation as a "unilateral" measure
that only creates distrust and overlooks the U.S. role in driving the drug
trade as the world's largest consumer for narcotics.

"Bilateral cooperation cannot be hostage of unilateral judgments that
undermine what we have achieved and hinder our capability to continue to
progress toward common objectives," Green said.

Drug czar McCaffrey said the number of Americans using illegal drugs has
fallen by 50 percent to 13 million, though only 4 million are addicts.
However, Americans continue to spend $57 billion a year on narcotics, he
said. And, while the number of people taking cocaine has dropped by 70
percent, the tonnage of cocaine consumed in the United States has not.

Madrazo complained that press leaks had hurt investigations into drug
trafficking in Mexico and said both the United States and Mexico should take
steps to prevent sensitive information being leaked.

Major U.S. newspapers regularly publish allegations of corruption in Mexico
based on information provided by unnamed U.S. government sources.

In February 1997, the New York Times quoted U.S. officials saying that the
then governors of the states of Sonora and Morelos had taken bribes to
protect traffickers.

Madrazo's office last week denied it was investigating the two former
governors for alleged money laundering.

On Sunday, the Washington Post, citing U.S. and Mexican officials, said
Quintana Roo, on the Yucatan peninsula and home to the Caribbean resort
Cancun, had become Mexico's principal "narco-state."

The newspaper reported that a Mexican army lieutenant who was trained by the
Central Intelligence Agency was kidnapped and tortured in June for
investigating links between the state governor Mario Villanueva and the drug
trade.

Madrazo said Mexican police were attacking the surge in trafficking and
laundering in Yucatan and seized three luxury hotels and other properties
there worth over $200 million.

U.S. politicians are looking at drug trade expansion in Yucatan with concern
and it could hurt Mexico's evaluation.

"The situation in Cancun is weighing heavily on people's minds," said a
staffer for a Californian senator.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst