CLINTON AT U.N. SEEKS TO PLACATE MEXICO

Zedillo Criticizes U.S. For Keeping Quiet On Cross-Border Drug Sting

UNITED NATIONS -- He came here to talk about international cooperation in
the war against drugs, but President Clinton spent much of his time Monday
trying to appease Mexican officials convinced that the United States did
anything but cooperate when it conducted an extensive sting operation there
recently.

Shortly after Clinton preached global unity in an 11-minute speech at the
start of a three-day special session on drugs, Mexican President Ernesto
Zedillo Ponce de Leon sent some thinly veiled criticism in his direction.

Countries on both ends of the drug trade -- those that supply drugs and
those whose residents demand them -- have an equal responsibility to fight
this battle, Zedillo said.

``We have the same rights and obligations, we all must respect the
sovereignty of each nation,'' he said, ``so that no one becomes a judge of
others, so that no one feels entitled to violate other countries' laws for
the sake of enforcing its own.''

Mexican officials have accused the United States of violating their laws by
conducting a 2 1/2-year undercover investigation that culminated in the
arrests of more than 150 people and the seizure of more than $50 million.
Last month, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles issued indictments charging
26 Mexican bankers and three banks with money laundering.

Although U.S. officials have since said they notified Mexico of portions of
the probe in 1996, Mexican officials have said they never gave
authorization and have threatened to press for the extradition of U.S.
Customs agents who worked undercover on the investigation. Dubbed
``Operation Casablanca,'' the sting reportedly is the largest
money-laundering investigation in U.S. history.

White House officials have largely skirted the issue of extradition, though
national security adviser Sandy Berger said Monday that ``would be a very
bad idea.'' And Attorney General Janet Reno reiterated that details of the
sting were kept close to the vest to protect the agents' lives.

``In any investigation, there may be problems that arise, but we always
work through those for the ultimate goal of real impact on drug trafficking
and money laundering, which threaten the people of both nations,'' Reno
said.

Still, White House drug policy coordinator Barry McCaffrey acknowledged
that ``there's some room here for us to look through how we can even more
effectively coordinate these in the future.''

Clinton and Zedillo met for more than an hour late Monday, but did not
discuss the question of extradition, according to James Dobbins, head of
inter-American affairs at the National Security Council.

While the two presidents issued a joint statement pledging the war against
drugs should be fought with ``full respect for the sovereignty of both
nations,'' Dobbins refused to say whether that meant there would be no
future cross-border undercover operations.

Clinton was conciliatory here, opening his speech by praising Zedillo for
his ``courageous resolve against drugs'' and Mexico for what he said was a
record-setting year in drug eradication in 1997.

``Today, we come here to say no nation is so large and powerful that it can
conquer drugs alone; none is too small to make a difference,'' Clinton told
the U.N. General Assembly.

Clinton called for collaboration among nations that produce drugs, traffic
in them or use them.

``The debate between drug-supplying and drug-consuming nations about whose
responsibility the drug problem is has gone on too long,'' he said. ``Let's
be frank -- this debate has not advanced the fight against drugs. Pointing
fingers is distracting. . . . Drugs are every nation's problem and every
nation must act to fight them -- on the streets, around the kitchen table
and around the world.''

Clinton has pledged to halve drug use in the United States, the world's
leading drug consumer, by 2007. He announced Monday that he would ask
Congress to extend through 2002 a public-private partnership that urges
children to stay off drugs. White House officials said the president would
seek $195 million from the federal government, while the private sector
would foot the rest of the $2 billion bill.