Drug czar, Feinstein clash over Mexico's cooperation

WASHINGTON Two leading voices on the issue of Mexico's commitment to
fighting drugs clashed Wednesday on Capitol Hill.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, DCalif., told White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey
that she is not nearly as optimistic as he is that Mexico is truly
cooperating in efforts to stem the flow of illegal narcotics into the
United States.

Their sharp differences surfaced in a Senate hearing before the Foreign
Relations Committee and the Caucus on International Narcotics Control,
where lawmakers are debating whether the U.S. process of certifying Mexico
should continue.

McCaffrey, a former Army general, is touting a 10year plan based on
cooperation among nations in the Western Hemisphere, suggesting the United
States should work more closely with countries such as Mexico in helping
them combat drugs.

Feinstein urges toughness

But Feinstein and others insist the United States should be tougher in its
stance with Mexico and use the certification process to force that country
to take stronger action to halt drug trafficking across the Rio Grande.

Feinstein said that while McCaffrey had made some ``limited progress'' on
the Mexican drug issue, ``there is a vast need yet for improvement.''

She noted that no Mexican citizens sought on U.S. criminal charges had been
extradited to this country. She complained that no leaders of the Mexican
drug cartels had been arrested. And she said the Mexican police force is
``still riddled with corruption.''

``We are at the early stages of really coming to terms with this problem,''
Feinstein said. ``Absent these (improvements), it will be difficult to make
the case that Mexico is actually cooperating.''

But McCaffrey argued otherwise. ``I think we're moving ahead,'' he said.

Spirit of cooperation

He said the Mexican law enforcement apparatus is beginning to rehabilitate
itself, saying some 1,200 corrupt police officers were fired last year.

He said Mexican drug seizures had increased every year since 1994 and that
the government had enacted laws against money laundering.

McCaffrey is trying to show Mexico that the United States wants to work
together in pursuing the drug fight. He said that concept is new to
Mexicans, who for years have been ``overwhelmed'' by their perception of
Americans as arrogant and unwilling to be a partner in any international
effort.

But in the past several years, he said, Mexican government leaders have
slowly warmed to the idea of joint cooperation.

``It's one of the most dramatic transformations I've seen in the region in
the last 30 years,'' he said.