U.S., MEXICO NEAR DEAL ON DRUG WAR AID

Mexican President Felipe Calderon, locked in a bloody confrontation with
drug cartels, is negotiating a counter-drug aid package with the Bush
administration worth hundreds of millions of dollars, say several U.S.
officials familiar with the discussions.

Officials on both sides are working out the details of a package that
resembles a similar plan for Colombia. The talks have been taking
place quietly for several months and will be a central item on the
agenda Aug. 20-21 when President Bush and Calderon are expected to
meet in Quebec.

Mexican officials have been reluctant to go public with the
discussions, mindful of the anti-U.S. sentiments harbored by many
Mexicans. The conservative Calderon believes he has little choice but
to enlist U.S. help given the cross-border nature of drug trafficking
and the ruthlessness of Mexico's drug gangs, officials and observers
told The Miami Herald.

Most of the American officials spoke on condition of anonymity because
of the sensitivity of the topic and because the details of the plan
could change in coming weeks. In public, U.S. officials say little
other than to acknowledge the discussions.

''We're working very closely with the Mexicans on counternarcotics on
a variety of fronts and at all levels of government,'' said National
Security Council spokeswoman Katherine Starr. ``Presidents Bush and
Calderon look forward to discussing this and other issues when they
meet in Canada in August.''

But officials view the talks as a bold initiative by Calderon that
underscores his resolve to tame drug-related violence -- most of it
between rival cartels -- that has cost the lives of 3,000 Mexicans in
the past year alone and forced the intervention of 20,000 federal troops.

''I think the Mexicans realize it's going to get worse before it gets
better,'' said Roger Noriega, a former assistant secretary of state
for the Western Hemisphere and now with the American Enterprise
Institute think-tank. ``They can't do this alone and should not have
to do this alone.''

One problem in the talks is that U.S. law enforcement agencies are
wary of sharing crucial intelligence information with their Mexican
counterparts, viewed as splintered and infiltrated by drug gangs.
Noriega says such prejudices ought to be set aside and the two
countries should carry out joint operations ``seamlessly integrated
across the border.''

The Drug Enforcement Administration estimates that 90 percent of the
cocaine consumed in the United States comes in from Mexico, which also
supplies the United States with large quantities of marijuana, heroin
and methamphetamines.

This traffic has made Mexican cartels enormously rich and powerful.
One recent cash seizure netted $206 million.

Far-Reaching Issue

For Washington, the stakes in Calderon's anti-drug push go beyond law
and order issues.

''If Calderon loses this battle,'' says Noriega, ``then there will be
no wall high enough to keep out Mexicans who are displaced by violence
and by the security threat that undermines Mexico's growth.''

Bush and Calderon hinted at the aid package under negotiation when
they met in Merida, Mexico, on March 14. Bush praised Calderon for his
tough stand against organized crime and drugs and recognized that as a
consumer nation, ``the United States has a responsibility in the fight
against drugs.''

People familiar with the talks say Mexico drew up a list that included
equipment, training and technology, including Black Hawk helicopters,
which are difficult to come by given U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
but are considered the transport of choice for security forces.

The price tag on the more ambitious aspiration is $1.2 billion, but a
more modest proposal is emerging in recent weeks in the area of $700
million, said one person familiar with the talks.

It is not clear how the administration will request the funds from
Congress, since the foreign operations spending bill for the coming
year already has been approved by the House. Mexican lawmakers have
also expressed concerns over the package.

Mexico's ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan, was
described by officials as a key actor in the talks. The Mexican
Embassy did not respond to Miami Herald requests for comment. A
delegation led by Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina Mora was in
Washington this week for discussions.

The aid package under consideration inevitably will spark comparisons
to the program underway with Colombia since 2000. Under it, the United
States has poured in more than $5 billion to combat armed groups as
well as eradicate coca and heroin crops.

Colombian authorities praise the program for helping reduce violence
there, though the country continues to produce vast quantities of cocaine.

Sensitive Subject

Mexican officials bristle at any comparisons with the Colombian
operation, which they view as too ambitious and an infringement on
Colombian sovereignty, given the heavy scrutiny by U.S. Congress and
direct involvement of U.S. personnel and equipment.

''Any type of a package called Plan Mexico,'' said Armand
Peschard-Sverdrup, a Mexico specialist with the Center for Strategic
and International Studies, ``would be dead on arrival.''

The Mexico package will more likely be cast as an effort to improve
Mexico's judicial system and its security forces. ''The U.S. can play
a role in bolstering that reform process,'' he said.

Colombia's security forces were eager to engage with their U.S.
counterparts, while the Mexicans, for historic reasons, are more distant.

''What we're really talking about is helping strengthen Mexico's rule
of law,'' said Peschard-Sverdrup.