LAWMAKERS FROM BOTH SIDES OF BORDER DISCUSS ISSUES

NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico (AP) - Lawmakers from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico
border met in the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo on Friday to discuss
the Rio Grande water fight, drug-related violence and other bilateral issues.

The third annual legislative border forum brought together 46 lawmakers
from the 10 Mexican and U.S. states along the 2,000-mile international line
stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

From the United States, eight legislators arrived -- three from New
Mexico, two from California, two from Arizona, and one from Texas.

In separate Binational Commission meetings Monday and Tuesday in Mexico
City, high-ranking U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Colin
Powell, will hold talks with their Mexican counterparts on a number of
topics, including what to do about the 3 million Mexicans working illegally
in the United States.

The issue, which U.S. President George W. Bush once cited as one of his top
priorities, was pushed to the back burner after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror
attacks.

New U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza, who presented his credentials to Mexican
President Vicente Fox on Friday, will also attend the meetings.

The talks along the border Friday focused on more regional concerns, such
as the transportation delays caused by heightened security at border crossings.

Enrique Cardenas, president of the legislature in the Gulf state of
Tamaulipas, which borders Texas, said border crossers face hour-long waits,
complicating life for many who cross daily to work or study.

Cardenas said while he understands the need for the security measures, "we
believe that more personnel by the North Americans should be put into place
to ease the flow of foot and automobile traffic."

Cardenas and others also expressed concern over violence plaguing the region.

In the border's largest city, Ciudad Juarez, more than 75 women have been
raped and killed since 1993. Dozens of suspects have been arrested, but
bodies have continued to turn up in the desert.

Nuevo Laredo, across from Laredo, Texas, has witnessed more than 60
executions in the past year, much of it drug-related.

The violence at times has spilled over into U.S. territory. In September,
four Mexican women were gunned down with semiautomatic guns in Donna, a
Texas border town of 15,000.

"The drug trafficking issue must be analyzed because the impression is that
the drug war is not advancing," Cardenas said. "We are worried that the
violence is getting out of control as are criminal organizations."

The group also planned to address the ensuing battle over Rio Grande water.

The United States is demanding Mexico pay back nearly half a trillion
gallons of Rio Grande water owed to south Texas farmers under a 1944 treaty.

Texas farmers claim the shortfall has cost them nearly a billion dollars in
lost crops since 1992. Mexican officials say Mexico also is suffering from
drought, but that the country is on track to pay back the water over the
next five years.