U.S. seeks to increase
number of drug agents
assigned to Mexico

=A9 1997 The New York Times=20

In his years as a U.S. drug agent in Mexico, Wilburn Sears
almost never traveled by plane, choosing to drive to
meetings, even when it meant a 1,000mile round trip.=20

Sears had no qualms about Mexico's airlines. But they do
not permit passengers to take weapons aboard, and the drug
agent refused to go anywhere without his gun.=20

In arming himself against what he said were several credible
death threats, Sears was acting with the approval of his
supervisors at the Drug Enforcement Administration and of
the U.S. ambassador in Mexico. However, he was also
violating a Mexican government restriction against U.S. drug
agents carrying guns.=20

That restriction is one of the ``rules of the game'' for U.S.
drug agents in Mexico that U.S. officials say help make
Mexico among the most daunting drug assignments
anywhere. This week, the rules arose as an issue in Congress
when the House approved a bill that would impose sanctions
on Mexico in 90 days unless it takes ``concrete measures'' to
combat corruption and relaxes some of the limits.=20

Negotiations are under way between Mexico and the United
States to do just that, but are by no means resolved, U.S.
officials said this week.=20

The officials, worried about the increasing threat posed by
violent Mexican traffickers, have pressed to reinforce the 39
DEA agents working south of the border with additional
officers and to obtain Mexican permission for them to carry
firearms. Mexican officials, concerned about their country's
sovereignty, have refused to grant the request or to
otherwise relax the rules that regulate the agents' behavior.=20

``North American drug officials say to us, `Just let us alone
to do whatever we want in Mexico,' '' a senior Foreign
Ministry official said. ``That's ridiculous. We're not going to
allow a bunch of Rambos to overrun our country.''=20

Although the question of drug agents carrying guns remains
at an impasse, the two countries are weighing the first
significant increase in the number of agents accredited to
work in Mexico since the Mexican government capped their
numbers and imposed strict rules for their conduct in 1992,
Mexican and U.S. officials said.=20

According to a DEA official, the United States has asked
Mexico to permit 12 more agents to be assigned to the U.S.
Embassy, six from the FBI and six from the DEA.=20

The United States has also asked than an additional 23 U.S.
agents be permitted to work in the twin border cities of
TijuanaSan Diego, Ciudad JuarezEl Paso, and
MatamorosBrownsville, Texas, the official said.=20

The U.S. agents are supposed to provide tactical intelligence
and behindthescenes leadership for the antidrug fight. But
they are overwhelmingly outnumbered by the dozens of
trafficking organizations operating across Mexico, where the
drug industry earns some $10 billion annually and plows $6
billion of it back into bribes to the police and politicians.=20

``The police officers you work with are often on the
traffickers' payroll,'' said Doug Wankel, who retired recently
as chief of operations of the DEA.=20

``So you're left on your own, and you worry about your
family, you worry about the safety of the informants you
recruit, and you end up wondering, whom can I trust? These
guys and women have a lot to contend with.''