SALINAS WARNS MEXICO AGAINST DRUG PROBE

MEXICO CITY--Former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari lashed out
from his self-imposed seclusion Monday, warning Mexico's top justice
officials that they could be implicated in a widening scandal about
drug trafficking during his administration.

Salinas counterattacked after the leak of a report claiming that his
brother Raul virtually ran narcotics traffic in Mexico during the
1988-94 Salinas presidency. That secret report was drawn up by Swiss
police investigating possible money laundering by Raul Salinas.

The former president demanded Monday that Mexican justice officials
officially discredit the report, parts of which were leaked to the New
York Times. Through his lawyer, he said that many of the witnesses
against his brother were jailed drug traffickers whose testimony
cannot be trusted.

Salinas' warning also indicated that Mexico's top political groups,
who traditionally send discreet messages to one another, are now
displaying all the gentility of boxing champion Oscar de la Hoya on
match night. It indicated that any probe into the Salinas' involvement
in trafficking could tar the government of current President Ernesto
Zedillo.

Raymundo Riva Palacio, a prominent political columnist, said Salinas
was warning not only Atty. Gen. Jorge Madrazo Cuellar but the entire
government.

The former president, once considered a close ally of the U.S.
government, has denied any ties to drug trafficking. Salinas lives in
self-imposed exile in Europe, an outcast since an economic crisis left
his reputation in tatters.

His brother also denies criminal activity. But the secret report
prepared by the Swiss police during their three-year investigation
paints a devastating portrait of Raul. Expanding on previously
reported allegations that he was tied to leading drug traffickers, it
reportedly depicts the former president's brother as a virtual godfather.

"When Carlos Salinas de Gortari became president of Mexico in 1988,
Raul Salinas de Gortari assumed control over practically all drug
shipments through Mexico," the report states, according to the New
York Times.

While working as a midlevel government functionary, Raul Salinas
directed soldiers and police to allow the movement of cocaine
shipments, and even commandeered government vehicles to truck cocaine
to the U.S., it claims.

Raul Salinas has been in jail in Mexico for three years on accusations
of murder and illegal enrichment. But several other charges have been
dropped, and many observers believe that he could be released shortly
due to the weakness of the cases against him.

Mariano Albor, the attorney for former President Salinas, has asked
Madrazo to investigate the witnesses quoted in the Swiss report to
prove their statements would be inadmissible under Mexican law.

He said many of the witnesses were traffickers in U.S. jails, who
provided "false information" in exchange for reduced sentences or
other benefits.

The former president's lawyer didn't stop at asking justice officials
to discredit the report. He asked justice officials not only to
"determine the falsity of the witnesses" quoted in the Swiss report
but to "take penal action against them." If the attorney general
does not act, Salinas' lawyer warned bluntly, he could face trouble
himself.

"These witnesses who are behaving falsely from foreign jails . . .
have launched such a serious attack that neither you nor your staff,
Mr. Attorney General, can escape the kind of grave accusations that
these people make," said Albor, whose statement was provided to
journalists.

He noted that Madrazo and senior members of his staff also served in
Salinas' administration. Those who attacked the former president's
anti-drug credentials could tar the current officials as well, he said.

In a brief interview, Madrazo said, "I have nothing to fear from what
Mr. Albor or anyone else could say. I am absolutely sure the same is
true for my staff." U.S. officials have expressed confidence that
Madrazo is honest.

Madrazo pointed out that he was a human rights official, not a drug
investigator, during the Salinas administration. He acknowledged that
several of his top aides were veteran justice officials, but added, "I
am convinced if they needed to do a specific investigation into drug
trafficking during the government of Carlos Salinas de Gortari, they
would have done it."

Analysts said the unusual declaration by the
former president appeared to be a warning to the Mexican government
not to pursue the Salinas family.

"I see this as a message to Zedillo and Madrazo, to not think about
charging Raul with drug trafficking and money laundering" based on the
Swiss investigation, said Luis Astorga, a sociologist and prominent
expert on drug trafficking.

Salinas, he said, wants "to remind them that he has information too."
Riva Palacio said that the attorney general's office has been
aggressively pursuing the Salinas family recently, by searching a
family-owned company and seeking to question Raul Salinas' associates.
Carlos Salinas was now striking back, he said.

"Salinas' level of belligerency has been growing," he said.

Swiss authorities are expected to use the police report to try to
seize more than $100 million in Swiss bank accounts maintained by Raul
Salinas. His lawyers have held that the money was part of a legal
investment pool maintained by Raul Salinas and several associates.

The Swiss report does not implicate former President Salinas in drug
trafficking, but it does "seriously question the probability that a
person with as much power as the president of Mexico for years did not
learn about criminal activities of this extent," the New York Times
reported.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry