MEXICO, U.S. NEGOTIATING ANTI-DRUG AID PACKAGE

WASHINGTON -- Mexican President Felipe Calderon, locked in a bloody
confrontation with drug cartels, is negotiating a massive counter-drug
aid package with the Bush administration worth hundreds of millions of
dollars, said several American officials familiar with the talks.

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

Mexican officials have been reluctant to go public with the
discussions, mindful of anti-U.S. sentiments harbored by many
Mexicans. But the conservative Calderon believes that 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 McClatchy Newspapers.

'They can't do this alone'

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 counter-narcotics 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 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 who is now with the American Enterprise
Institute think tank. "They can't do this alone, and should not have
to do this alone."

One problem with 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 said that such prejudices should be set aside and that 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 through Mexico, which
also supplies the U.S. with large quantities of marijuana, heroin and
methamphetamine.

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

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

"If Calderon loses this battle," Noriega said, "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 an aid package when they met in Merida,
Mexico, on March 14.

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 the 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 has emerged 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.