U.S. MAY PROVIDE BILLIONS TO MEXICO TO FIGHT DRUG CARTELS

MEXICO CITY -- Mexico and the United States are holding intensive
talks to develop a plan for the United States to provide billions of
dollars to Mexico to support its fight against drug cartels, but the
negotiations are not likely to produce an agreement before next
week's trilateral meeting with Canada, officials from both countries said.

Both sides are trying to keep the details of the talks secret, but
officials with knowledge of the issue said the aid would include
money and training for the Mexican police, as well as advanced
eavesdropping, surveillance and other spying technology.

Mexican officials insisted that any agreement would not involve
operations by the United States military or drug enforcement agents
on Mexican soil, as has happened in Colombia and Peru.

"The bottom line is precisely some help with equipment so we can do
our job from a more solid perspective," said Eduardo Medina Mora, the
Mexican attorney general, in an interview with Radio Formula last
week. "What are the concrete components? That is obviously on the
table, but always obviously with the principle of respect for our sovereignty."

Mexican officials said the negotiations began in March, around the
time that President Bush met for talks with President Felipe Calderon
in Merida, Mexico. The new discussions come as Mr. Calderon has
started using federal troops in a major offensive against drug
cartels and has begun extraditing top drug traffickers to the United
States, a break with past practice.

In general, Mexico is seeking money, training and advanced technology
for its state and federal police forces. One problem for Mexican
antidrug officials has been the rampant corruption in municipal
police departments.

Recently released tapes of police radio conversations in Tijuana, for
instance, suggested that officers had been working hand in hand with
gunmen for the Arellano Felix drug cartel to allow them to slip away
from federal agents.

But Mexican officials also want the United States to do more to
reduce the consumption of drugs at home and stop the flow of arms and
ill-gotten cash back into Mexico. "We don't see this as an assistance
package," said one high-ranking official in the president's office,
who requested anonymity because of the delicate nature of the
negotiations here. "We see this as increased cooperation."

Mr. Medina Mora, the attorney general, said in the radio interview:
"There is a flow, of course, of drugs from the south to the north,
but there is also an important flow of arms and money from the north
to the south."

While discussions so far have taken place between top diplomats and
security experts in the executive branches of both countries, any
major aid package for Mexico would probably have to have
Congressional approval, officials from both sides said.

Representative Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat who represents a
border district that includes Laredo, said he supported the proposal,
saying it would mark a "historic shift in policy" by giving Mexico an
array of tools to crack down on drug dealers. On the table are tools
such as surveillance equipment, aircraft, and advanced radar and
telephone-tapping equipment, Mr. Cuellar and Mexican officials said.

"It's equipment and technology to make sure they are able to match
the power of the drug cartels," Mr. Cuellar said in a recent interview.

Mr. Cuellar was part of a delegation from the House Homeland Security
Committee that visited Mexico in April and heard from high-ranking
law enforcement officials about the hurdles they faced in fighting
well-financed drug cartels.

The official in the Mexican president's office, however, said it
might be weeks before a deal could be presented to lawmakers, while
United States officials voiced doubt that an agreement would be
reached before the Aug. 20 trilateral meeting in Montebello, Quebec.

"There is no final deal," the Mexican official said. "There are many
things on the table right now and many of those things involve what
the U.S. will do in their territory. This has been going on for
several weeks. There is no deadline for this."