Pubdate: Sat, 02 Mar 2002 Source: Orange County Register (CA) Copyright: 2002 The Orange County Register Contact: http://www.ocregister.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/321 Author: Alfredo Corchado, The Dallas Morning News MEXICO FULL PARTNER IN DRUG WAR Cooperation: High Marks Given By State Department For Helping The U.S. Cut Down Unwanted Imports. WASHINGTON - The Bush administration Thursday certified 20 countries, including Mexico and Colombia, as partners in the war against drug trafficking, while a chorus of legislators called for a temporary halt to the annual report card they say is more of an embarrassment for its allies than a tool for reducing the supply of illegal drugs. Calling Mexico's military cooperation and drug fighting efforts "extraordinary," the annual report issued by the State Department also said its new democratic transformation may lead to even closer ties and efforts in fighting off powerful drug lords. But the report also warned: "Pervasive corruption in Mexican government institutions remains the greatest challenge facing Mexico in its efforts to fight drug trafficking and organized crime." Overall, Rand Beers, the State Department's top narcotics official, said of Mexico's efforts: "Their seizure levels were extraordinary last year. The prospect of even increased cooperation in the drug policy area is also strengthened, I think, by the political events in Mexico and in our own country." The certification process has at best been considered an irritant and counterproductive with other countries embarrassed by their grades and annoyed that the world's biggest drug consumer has the gall to tell anyone else what to do. Of the 24 countries under the eye of the United States, only two nations - Burma and Afghanistan - were denied certification. Nigeria and Paraguay, which in the past have received partial approval, were upgraded to full certification. Moreover, the report lauded Colombia's eradication efforts, praising a U.S-backed aerial eradication program that showed a dramatic drop in cocoa cultivation growth rates from an average of 22 percent per year from 1997 through 1999, to 11 percent last year, the report said. Still, citing the ongoing guerrilla conflict in the Andean nation that accounts for an estimated 5,000 deaths annually, the road ahead is perilous, the report said. At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, some lawmakers called for an overhaul of the thorny process. "The existing certification process has antagonized too many of our partners in the war on drugs, particularly in Latin America," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. "We must develop a new process based on mutual accountability, cooperation and respect." Recently introduced legislation calls for a two-year suspension of the certification process to give President Bush time to work with other countries on developing new drug-fighting strategies. In Mexico, news of the country's passing grade didn't make much of a dent on newscasts or in street chatter. That doesn't mean the issue is over. "Ultimately for the United States, and for law enforcement in the U.S. the litmus test is going to be whether they catch and prosecute the major kingpins in Mexico," said Ana Maria Salazar, a scholar on U.S.-Mexico relations at the Mexican Autonomous Technological Institute. "Without certification I don't think we would have put in as much resources." - --- MAP posted-by: Beth