MEXICO KNEW ABOUT US MONEY-LAUNDERING STING

Mexico City-Mexican officials say they had some advance knowledge of a
major U.S. money-laundering investigation that has inflamed relations
between the two countries,but they never approved it.

The acknowledgment late Wednesday that U.S. Customs Service officials
had discussed the investigation with a Mexican deputy attorney general
two years ago did little to ease Mexican criticism over U.S. handling
of the case.

For two weeks, Mexican officials have accused the United States of
violating its sovereignty in the "Operation Casablanca" investigation,
which last month led to the arrests of 160 people - including about
two dozen Mexican bankers.

They said the United States failed to inform it about the
investigation, even though undercover operations were apparently
carried out in Mexico. The Mexican government has filed a protest and
officials say they will seek the extradition of U.S. agents who broke
their laws.

In a statement, the Mexican Attorney General's Office acknowledged
that U.S. Customs officials met with then-Deputy Attorney General
Rafael Eatrada Samano in January 1996 and that the Americans did not
request Mexican help in the investigation.

The meeting "in no way can be considered an authorization or a
validation for undercover informants or witnesses in the service of
the U.S. government ... to carry out actions on national territory,"
it said.

In a radio interview, then-attorney General Antonio Lozano Garcia said
Customs officials did not reveal the magnitude of the investigation or
provide details.

Checked-by: (trikydik)