DESPITE OBJECTIONS, CLINTON ADMINISTRATION CERTIFIES MEXICO AS
DRUG-FIGHTING PARTNER

The Clinton administration decided yesterday to certify Mexico as a partner
in combating international drug trafficking, over the objections of the
Drug Enforcement Administration and other law enforcement agencies that
argued that narcotics trafficking from Mexico is increasing and official
corruption remains rampant.

The decision came after a debate within the administration that peaked
yesterday when officials advocating certification succeeded in removing
strong criticism of Mexico from planned testimony before a Senate
subcommittee by Thomas A. Constantine, director of the DEA, who opposed
commending Mexico's anti-drug efforts.

Opponents of certification within the administration cited a secret law
enforcement intelligence memorandum on the situation in Mexico, prepared
last month and obtained by The Washington Post, that paints a relentlessly
pessimistic assessment of the country's counternarcotics effort and
dismisses many reported gains as superficial steps.

Last year, in the face of congressional outrage over the certification of
Mexico and serious efforts to overturn the measure, President Clinton
worked out a compromise whereby the administration would set specific goals
by which to judge Mexico's performance. However, critics of yesterday's
decision said, virtually none of those goals had been met.

The decision to certify Mexico brought bipartisan protests in Congress,
with those opposing the certification claiming the administration is
painting much too bright a picture of Mexico's anti-drug efforts. Because
about 60 percent of the cocaine on the streets of the United States passes
through Mexico, the country's cooperation is vital to any counterdrug effort.

At the same time the administration certified Mexico, it did not certify
Colombia, but decided to waive economic sanctions because of national
security interests. Colombia has been decertified the past two years
because U.S. officials believe President Ernesto Samper took $6.1 million
from the Cali cocaine cartel for his 1994 presidential campaign.

By March 1 every year the president must certify whether nations around the
world are cooperating in combating drug trafficking. The president can deny
certification to a country, triggering economic sanctions, or he can deny
certification but issue a national interest wavier, eliminating the sanctions.

This year, Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright said the United States
had certified 22 of 30 countries. Four countries -- Nigeria, Afghanistan,
Burma and Iran -- were denied certification. Colombia, Cambodia, Paraguay
and Pakistan were decertified but received national interest waviers.

According to knowledgeable sources, the sharpest confrontation over how to
deal with Mexico came yesterday morning in a heated telephone conversation
between Barry R. McCaffrey, the White House drug policy chief, and
Constantine prior to the testimony of the DEA director before the Western
Hemisphere subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

McCaffrey, who is a staunch supporter of increasing bilateral ties,
succeeded in having some of the harsher remarks toned down or deleted as
Constantine's testimony was reviewed by his office, according to the
sources. That led to what one source with direct knowledge of the events
called a "pretty heated discussion, with some shouting" between the two men.

In a telephone interview, McCaffrey acknowledged the conversation had taken
place and that there had been "more intense internal debate" over how to
handle Mexico this year than in the past. However, he said the conversation
was not "testy."

In announcing the decision to certify Mexico, Albright said it was due to
the "strong cooperation" in fighting drugs between the two nations.

Attorney General Janet Reno and McCaffrey echoed the sentiment, lauding
Mexico for enacting money-laundering legislation and creating new
investigative units to help root out official corruption.

The secret intelligence report states that "in the past year the government
of Mexico has not accomplished its counternarcotics goals or succeeded in
cooperation with the United States government." The document added that
there were concerns about the Mexican government's prospects for success in
fighting drug trafficking "due to endemic corruption, violence, and the
unabated growth of the drug trafficking syndicates in Mexico."

The report found that "the scope of Mexican drug trafficking has increased
significantly," while the Mexican government "has arrested and prosecuted
few individuals" despite the fact that the leaders of the main Mexican drug
trafficking organizations are fully identified.

Every major investigation in Mexico, the report said, "uncovers significant
corruption of law enforcement officials that continually frustrates our
effort in building cases on and apprehending the most significant drug
traffickers and is the primary reason there has been no meaningful progress
in drug law enforcement in Mexico."

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) blasted the decision to certify Mexico,
saying that while Mexico had made "limited progress" in fighting drugs,
"there remain gaping holes in its counternarcotics efforts."

Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) also blasted the decision, calling it a "scam"
and saying there was "less cooperation" on judicial matters and law
enforcement than there was a year ago.

In Mexico, the foreign ministry rejected the entire concept of
certification as intrusive and hypocritical.

"The government of Mexico combats drug trafficking because it considers it
to be in its interest, and because of the danger that this phenomenon
represents to the safety and well-being of our country," the statement said.

© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company