MEXICO CITY -- Concerned by U.S. attempts to guide Mexican anti-drug
efforts, officials here are again rejecting calls to let American
agents carry arms in Mexico.

U.S. officials have long argued that Drug Enforcement Administration
agents need to carry weapons to protect themselves from drug gangs
while on Mexican soil. A DEA agent, Enrique Camarena, was kidnapped,
tortured and killed by drug traffickers in 1985.

Mexico has repeatedly rejected the request, seeing the presence of
foreign armed agents as a threat to its sovereignty. The Foreign
Relations Secretariat on Monday rejected the demands again.

"The government of Mexico has repeatedly and emphatically indicated
that it will not grant such permission," said secretariat spokesman
Oscar Ramirez Suarez in a news release.

The statement came in response to a proposal by two Republican
lawmakers, Sen. Mike DeWine of Ohio and Rep. Bill McCollum of Florida,
which would offer new helicopters for Mexico if the country allows
U.S. agents to carry weapons here.

The proposal is part of their "Western Hemisphere Drug Elimination Act
of 1998," which also urges that all U.S. law enforcement officials
working across the border be granted diplomatic immunity.

The proposal comes at a time of increased Mexican sensitivity to U.S.
drug-fighting efforts here.

Mexican lawmakers expressed outrage in May when the U.S. announced
that U.S. agents working secretly in Mexico had been involved in the
arrest of several Mexican bankers on money-laundering charges.

Mexican officials claimed that the operation violated the country's
sovereignty as well as agreements to share information. The attorney
general's office has vowed to try to extradite and prosecute the U.S.
agents.

Meanwhile, a federal court here has blocked extradition of a major
drug-traffic suspect wanted by the United States, Oscar Malherbe,
newspapers reported Tuesday.

Drug agents claim Malherbe took over leadership of Mexico's Gulf
Cartel following the 1996 arrest of Juan Garcia Abrego. In January, a
Mexican court sentenced Malherbe to two years in prison on weapons
charges.

Malherbe is wanted on multiple drug-trafficking charges in the United
States. The new court ruling blocks extradition at least until all
legal cases against him in Mexico are resolved.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry