Zedillo: US Should Pay Mexico for Drug Damage

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) The United States should pay Mexico compensation
for the damage that drug trafficking has done instead of standing in
judgement on the country's antinarcotics performance, Mexican President
Ernesto Zedillo said in remarks published Wednesday.

``They still want to certify us. They should reimburse us for the mess they
have left us,'' Zedillo told a small group of reporters late Tuesday in the
western Mexican city of Guadalajara.

Reflecting a widespread view in Latin America that consumer countries such
as the United States are mainly to blame for the drug problem, Zedillo said
Mexico was squeezed between consumer demand for drugs and narcotics
production by poor South American countries.

``That's the cruelty of this phenomenon,'' he said. ``They make a sandwich
of us. Fortunately we are not consumers (of drugs).''

Tape recorders had been banned from the meeting with Zedillo, but
handtaken notes were circulated among reporters covering the president.

Zedillo's unusually aggressive remarks followed highly critical comments
about Mexico's drug record earlier Tuesday from two U.S. senators.

The senators, Democrat Dianne Feinstein of California and Republican Paul
Coverdell of Georgia, said in joint statement that Mexico had not done
enough to crack down on drug corruption and risked not being ``certified''
next March.

Certification is an annual ritual in the United States, where the president
must report to congress on whether other countries have performed
adequately in their war on drugs.

Asked by one reporter whether Mexico was turning into a second Colombia
because of the rise of drug trafficking and violence, Zedillo replied:

``The two cases are difficult and different because Colombia is a producer
(of drugs) and Mexico is a transit country.''

American drug reports say that while Mexico is used to route South American
cocaine into the United States, the country does produce substantial
quantities of heroin, marijuana and methamphetamines.

Zedillo also attacked Europe's treatment of the drug problem.

``All you need to do in Europe is go to the parks and see the needles lying
around everywhere and then ask who gives them to them and they say the
government distributes them in pharmacies,'' he said.

The Clinton administration insisted on ``certifying'' or approving,
Mexico's fight on drugs last March despite fierce opposition from Congress.
The White House issued a followup report on Mexico in September.

``By the standard of this report, it is not at all clear that Mexico will
earn certification next year,'' the Senators said, adding that Mexican law
enforcement was still ``riddled with corruption'' and no major drug cartel
leader had been arrested.

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