Senators Criticize Mexican AntiDrug Effort

WASHINGTON (Reuters) Two senators say Mexico has not done enough to crack
down on drug corruption and risks not being certified by the United States
in March as an ally in the war on drugs.

Sens. Paul Coverdell, RGa., and Dianne Feinstein, DCalif., said Mexico
must arrest drug barons and extradite them to the United States if it is to
earn its certification in 1998.

Mexico must also allow Drug Enforcement Administration agents to carry arms
that they need to protect themselves when they cross the Mexican border,
the senators said in a joint statement released Tuesday.

The Clinton administration insisted on certifying Mexico this year in the
face of opposition from Congress, arguing that decertification would damage
the Mexican economy.

Mexico was certified even though its antidrug chief, Gen. Jesus Gutierrez
Rebollo, had been arrested weeks before on charges of being on the payroll
of drug traffickers.

The White House promised to report to Congress six months later on progress
made by Mexico in stemming the flow of narcotics into the United States.

Antidrug chief Gen. Barry McCaffrey reported in September that Mexico had
made big strides in combating drug trafficking and vetting its drug
enforcement agencies of corrupt officials.

But the senators complained that Mexican law enforcement was still
``riddled with corruption'' and no major drug cartel leader had been arrested.

``By the standard of this report, it is not al all clear that Mexico will
earn certification next year,'' they said.

Gen. McCaffrey's report put an ``optimistic spin on a few cosmetic
concessions made by the Mexican government under pressure from its
principal ally,'' they stated.

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