TO THE EDITOR:

Re "A Costly Sting in Mexico" (editorial, June 12): Sting operations are
regarded as illegal entrapment under Mexican law. In response to an American
undercover operation that led to the indictment of 26 Mexican bankers on
charges of money laundering, President Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico criticized
the United States for acting as if it were "entitled to violate another
country's laws for the sake of enforcing its own" (news article, June 9).

Undercover operations, by their very nature, involve deception and ethically
questionable tactics. By creating an artificial criminal milieu and holding
out temptations for criminal opportunities that do not otherwise exist, we
are not punishing crimes but testing people and punishing those too weak to
pass the test. This approach to law enforcement is contrary to the idea of a
free society. We have no right to treat our neighbors this way.

PAUL WOLF Glen Mills, Pa., June 15, 1998

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett