ACTING U.S. DRUG CZAR LAUDS MEXICO'S FIGHT

MEXICO CITY - Mexican President Vicente Fox has made inroads against drug
trafficking and consumption, though graft remains "endemic" in Mexican law
enforcement, the White House's top drug officer said on Thursday.

"President Fox has made a real commitment that I think is different from
the past," Edward Jurith, acting director of the White House Office of
National Drug Control Policy, said in an interview.

"Granted, there are some rough challenges ahead, corruption obviously, and
the resistance of many Mexican institutions to move forward. But I think
with leadership from the top and reform of the Mexican political system
there's hope that I've not seen in years past," said Jurith, a 20-year
veteran of the drug war in Washington.

The acting drug czar visited Mexico for an annual bilateral meeting on
reducing demand for illegal drugs, a strategy that is central to U.S.
President George W. Bush's drug control program. John Walters, Bush's
controversial nominee to the drug policy post, is awaiting Senate confirmation.

Among its drug initiatives, the Fox administration captured a series of
high profile suspected international drug traffickers and moved to
extradite them to the United States, a step which Jurith called "very
positive and concrete."

However, U.S. officials were "very disappointed" by last month's ruling by
the Mexican Supreme Court making it more difficult to extradite criminal
suspects, he said.

The court ruled that the government cannot extradite to the United States
any suspect who might receive a sentence that exceeds Mexico's maximum
punishment of 60 years. "We're talking about the extradition of some very
dangerous criminals, not just drug-related," Jurith said.

A conduit for drugs from the Andes to the United States, Mexico is coming
to grips with growing drug abuse within its borders, a trend reminiscent of
the start of the U.S. cocaine epidemic in the 1980s, Jurith said.

Fox has pledged to crack down on corruption in the military and police,
long infamous for ties to drug barons. And Mexico has put new emphasis on
research and treatment, Jurith said.

Shifting Battle Lines

Burgeoning cocaine use in Mexico is due partly to U.S. success in the drug
war, as dealers seek new markets. Tighter border security prompted by the
Sept. 11 aerial attacks in the United States also might be be forcing more
drugs to remain in Mexico and Central America.

In response to the attacks, the U.S. government moved some resources away
from the drug war to the war on terrorism.

"Clearly counter-terrorism in the current struggle is the administration's
priority, as it should be, but I don't think that diminishes the commitment
to an aggressive drug control program," Jurith said. "We need to mesh these
strategies to make sure that they don't contradict each other."

Drug use, mainly cocaine consumption, is growing in Latin America and
Europe. But in the United States "the cocaine epidemic is over," Jurith said.

U.S. cocaine consumption has dropped by 70 percent since 1985, while the
use of marijuana, heroin and other drugs has leveled off, Jurith said,
adding that the front lines have shifted from law enforcement to treatment
and prevention.

On that front, the neighboring countries are trading experience and
expertise to blur national borders.

"We've reached out to the Mexicans to help us with our national media
campaign, for example, to make our messages more culturally relevant,"
Jurith said.

With some 5 million U.S. residents classified as addicted to cocaine,
heroin and other substances, the social cost remains high. Half of all
child welfare cases are believed to involve an addicted parent, Jurith
said, calling it a "phenomenal expense to society."