Pubdate: Fri, 23 Apr 2004 Source: Tallahassee Democrat (FL) Copyright: 2004 Tallahassee Democrat. Contact: http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/444 Note: Prints email address for LTEs sent by email Author: Tracy Carl, Associated Press U.S. ENDS COOPERATION IN MEXICAN PROBES MEXICO CITY - The U.S. Treasury Department has stopped sharing information with Mexico on financial crimes - including money laundering and terrorism - after confidential information was leaked to the public. The announcement Friday was a blow to cross-border crime fighting, which had resulted in the arrests of several high-profile drug lords. U.S. officials had previously cheered the Mexican government for working closely with them to cripple organized crime. Mexico's Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha said Friday the move affects monitoring of about 30,000 financial transactions a day and he promised to regain U.S. confidence. "We have to re-establish this flow of information," he said. "We have worked in confidence with the U.S. government, and I think we can convince them this was a special case." The U.S. Embassy said Friday the Treasury Department had suspended cooperation a day earlier, pending "guarantees that all delicate information will be protected." Officials would not comment further. In Washington, officials said they wanted to make sure information they shared with Mexico was kept secret. "The breech of confidential information is a serious matter that the Treasury Department and the U.S. government will not take lightly," said Molly Millerwise, a spokeswoman for the department. "It is critical that we have the utmost confidence in our information-sharing relationship with all foreign governments." Officials in both countries monitor financial transactions and share information on possible illegal activity, helping capture money launderers and even corrupt politicians. The problem apparently centers on a U.S. report describing dealings of Mexico City Finance Director Gustavo Ponce, who disappeared after clandestine videos of him gambling in Las Vegas were broadcast in Mexico. The videos were accompanied by anonymous reports describing Ponce's lavish spending in Las Vegas, allegedly with taxpayer money. Mexico City Mayor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, embarrassed by the scandal, later waved a copy of a U.S. report during a news conference, saying it proved that federal authorities knew before he did that Ponce was corrupt but took no action. The leading potential candidate for president in 2006, Lopez Obrador has accused U.S. officials of conspiring with aides of President Vicente Fox and even with former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari to discredit him. U.S. officials and Fox's administration have denied that. Lopez Obrador answered a summons Friday by federal prosecutors who have suggested he illegally revealed details of a federal investigation. Speaking to reporters Friday, Fox blamed Lopez Obrador for the U.S. decision to stop sharing information with Mexico, saying that "when the Mexico City mayor made (the information) public, the American authorities complained." Hours earlier, at a news conference after his summons, Lopez Obrador accused federal officials of leaking the information and acting in "an arbitrary and cynical" manner by focusing on him. Heading into the session, he walked through a pushing, shoving crowd of photographers, reporters and cameramen, but made no statement. Luis Astorga, a Mexican sociology professor who investigates drug trafficking issues, said the suspension was a "strong wake-up call" from the United States. He said Mexico should take the warning seriously, and "get its house in order." He speculated the United States was worried that confidential information could end up being leaked not only to political parties and newspapers but to criminals. Stressing the importance of keeping documents confidential, Macedo denied anyone in his department leaked the information and he pledged to find where the security breach occurred. "Imagine if investigations were aired publicly throughout the country, it would give a heads up in any situation and, obviously, encourage the criminals," he said. Mexico's Treasury Department - also accused by Lopez Obrador of spilling the information - declined to comment. The revelations involving Ponce and several other members of Lopez Obrador's party and administration have rocked Mexican politics, though they have failed to knock Lopez Obrador from the top of Mexico's early presidential election polls. Businessman Carlos Ahumada, linked by prosecutors to the Ponce case, fled to Cuba after television stations showed videos of him shoving stacks of money at members of Lopez Obrador's party. He was associated, however, with a party faction that rivaled Lopez Obrador and was under city investigation before the scandal erupted. Fox's election in 2000 unseated the long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh