Pubdate: Mon, 12 Feb 2001
Source: Ft. Worth Star-Telegram (TX)
Copyright: 2001 Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas
Contact:  400 W. Seventh Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76102
Website: http://www.star-telegram.com/
Forum: http://www.star-telegram.com/comm/forums/
Author: Associated Press

HUTCHISON, OTHERS CALLING FOR END TO CERTIFICATION OF MEXICO'S 
DRUG-FIGHTING EFFORTS

EL PASO -- The annual bilateral tension over the United States' drug 
certification of Mexico is brewing.

Under a congressional mandate, the U.S. State Department must review 
Mexico's drug-fighting efforts each year. If those efforts are viewed as 
inadequate, the U.S. government can impose economic sanctions.

Certification has served mostly as a political tool to pressure Mexico into 
doing more to combat drug-trafficking within its borders. Barring any 
last-minute delays, the State Department plans to meet its March 1 
deadline, officials said.

But officials from both countries are calling for changes.

Last September, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, introduced a bill to 
suspend the certification process for Mexico this year. She reasoned that 
Presidents Bush and Vicente Fox -- both relatively new presidents -- need 
more time to work out their anti-drug strategies.

Fox has said that he wants the United States to terminate the process.

Hutchison's measure got sidetracked with the presidential election, but she 
plans to gather co-sponsors and reintroduce it next week, said her 
spokeswoman, Lisette McSoud.

Some lawmakers, including Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, favor doing away 
with certification.

"It's a process that has outlived its usefulness," Reyes said. "We ought to 
spend more effort on solutions that are conducive to better cooperation 
with Mexico."

In the bigger picture, Reyes said, the fight against drug-trafficking 
should include education aimed at prevention, treatment and law enforcement.

"We will make an impact if we persevere," he said.

Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-San Antonio, said that, although he favors keeping 
the certification process, he is open to reforms.

The Bush administration needs to take a long look at the drug issue before 
deciding what it wants to do next in the nation's war on drugs, said Jose 
Garcia, director of the Latin America Studies Center at New Mexico State 
University in Las Cruces. He said he believes that the United States should 
drop the certification process and use a multinational approach on the drug 
problem.
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