FEINSTEIN URGES DECERTIFICATION OF MEXICO AS ALLY IN WAR ON DRUGS

Democratic senator is going against Clinton administration, conceding that
she is likely to fail. She says move is necessary to keep pressure on
southern neighbor.

WASHINGTON--As the U.S. Senate prepares to pass judgment on Mexico's record
in the war on drugs, Sen. Dianne Feinstein is waging a war of her own--one
she fully expects to lose.

California's senior Democratic senator is leading the crusade to strip
Mexico of its recent designation by President Clinton as a comrade in the
global fight against drug trafficking. It is an effort some experts say
will not only fail but also could further strain Feinstein's relations with
the state's growing and powerful Latino community, not to mention put her
at odds with the White House.

So why do it? Even a failed attempt to reverse Clinton's certification of
Mexico as an effective partner in the drug war is necessary to keep
pressure on Mexican officials to do their part, Feinstein insists. Without
the decertification threat, Mexico's meager advances on the drug front will
not improve, she said.

"I have never expected to win this," Feinstein said in an interview
preceding the Senate vote, expected as early as today. "What I expect to do
is keep the pressure up. . . . Cartels are stronger than ever--we will show
this--and there are zero arrests of cartel leaders [in Mexico]. And
everybody knows who they are."

The Clinton administration is required by law to recommend annually whether
to certify Mexico and other countries as full partners in the fight against
drugs, or find them liable for possible economic and diplomatic sanctions.

Feinstein and Sen. Paul Coverdell (R-Ga.) failed in their bid to overturn
last year's certification but won a special review by the administration of
Mexico's drug-fighting efforts. Now they are trying again, arguing that
Mexico has done little to earn the stamp of approval in a drug epidemic
Feinstein calls "a greater threat to American safety than all of organized
crime was in the 1960s."

Armed with an arsenal of charts and statistics, Feinstein intends to
spotlight in the Senate what she sees as Mexico's dismal commitment to
stemming the gushing flow of drugs into this country--particularly
methamphetamines. A surging problem in California, the rampant spread of
methamphetamine labs helped convince Feinstein to stay at Mexico's heels,
her aides said.

California is now considered the main source of the drug for the rest of
the nation, produced primarily with chemicals from across the border. There
were 1,429 methamphetamine lab seizures in California in 1996--an increase
of 61% over the previous year, Feinstein's staff said.

Feinstein is also concerned that the Mexican government has not complied
with U.S. requests for the extradition of 27 nationals wanted in this
country on major drug charges. And she cites State Department statistics
showing that in 1996-97, Mexico's heroin seizures dropped 68%,
methamphetamine seizures fell 77% and seizures of ephedrine--a chemical
used to make methamphetamine--declined 91%.

Despite such numbers, many critics argue that disgracing a neighboring
trade partner with decertification is not the way to solve an intractable
drug problem. Further, critics say that Feinstein is blaming Mexico for a
thriving narcotics market that the United States helped create: There can
be, after all, no flourishing Mexican supply without enthusiastic U.S.
demand. "It's hard for the United States to cast the first stone," said
Rep. Xavier Becerra, a Los Angeles Democrat and chairman of the House
Hispanic Caucus.

And noting that decertification could carry with it trade sanctions,
Becerra said: "The senator has to be aware that to succeed [in her fight]
would have great economic consequences for California. And the last thing
we need to do is to destroy not only diplomacy with one of our most
important world partners but economic relations."

In a vacuum, the decertification issue would be unlikely to dent
Feinstein's image with Latino voters when she faces reelection in 2000. But
with her tough stance on illegal immigration already having alienated some
Latino leaders, her bid to overturn Clinton's certification of Mexico is
not being viewed as the sort of attitude adjustment these Latino leaders
were waiting for.

"In those circles where she has lost support, this might be seen as an
extension of a pattern. Her actions on this are not without a context or a
history," said Isidro D. Ortiz, professor of Chicana and Chicano studies at
San Diego State. Becerra added: "The message out there to anyone who values
the relationship we have with Mexico is that she is turning a cold
shoulder. And there is already a critical mass that believes the senator
has been insensitive to some of the Latino community's concerns."

Feinstein counters that Latinos want the drug flow stopped as much as
anyone. And putting trade concerns before a narcotics epidemic would be a
grave mistake, she warns.

"When I make my remarks on the floor they are based on facts, not on any
kind of bias or prejudice," she said. "I would send the highest kudos to
Mexico if I saw some arrest of the cartels, but they are all flourishing
abondanza."

Feinstein's persistence on the Mexico issue also makes her appear less than
a loyal Democrat to the Clinton administration.

"We share a 2,000-mile border with Mexico, and it is in our best interest
to work with Mexico," said Brian Morton, spokesman for the Office of
National Drug Control Policy. "With all due respect to Sen. Feinstein,
Mexico has made great strides and we hope to continue with those great
strides in the future."

But behind the scenes, some administration officials applaud Feinstein's
protestations. Sources close to the White House say that Feinstein's
continuing criticism is believed to have helped push Mexico to be more
cooperative. One congressional aide added: "She may be seen as an
irritation, but that's all. Decertification won't haunt her."

Copyright Los Angeles Times