Pubdate: Thur, 25 Feb 1999 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 1999 The New York Times Company Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ Forum: http://forums.nytimes.com/comment/ Author: Christopher Wren D.E.A. CHIEF WARNS SENATE ON TRAFFICKERS IN MEXICO WASHINGTON -- The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Thomas Constantine, warned Wednesday that Mexican drug trafficking organizations pose the worst criminal threat to the United States that he has seen in nearly 40 years in law enforcement. Speaking days before the Clinton administration deadline for certifying that Mexico is cooperating in drug-fighting efforts, Constantine sketched a bleak picture in testimony before the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. "Unlike the American organized crime leaders, organized crime figures in Mexico have at their disposal an army of personnel, an arsenal of weapons and the finest technology that money can buy," Constantine said. "They literally run transportation and financial empires, and an insight into how they conduct their day-to-day business leads even the casual observer to the conclusion that the United States is facing a threat of unprecedented proportions and gravity." But with the administration on the brink of declaring that Mexico deserves certification, he did not address the central question of the level of official cooperation that Mexico has offered to the United States. The State Department must submit an annual report to Congress by Monday that lists which countries have failed to cooperate in fighting drugs. Clinton said last week on a brief visit to Mexico that it should not be penalized for "having the courage to confront its problems" with illegal drugs. But Wednesday, some senators who last year objected to seeing Mexico certified found in Constantine's testimony fresh ammunition for another challenge in Congress this year. "My purpose here is not to bash Mexico," said the chairman of the caucus, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. "But the problem is too serious to ignore." Constantine sidestepped a question about whether Mexico deserved to be certified, talking instead about its decline in drug seizures, its pervasive corruption and its failure to extradite any Mexicans sought by the United States in connection with trafficking. Other administration officials sought to play down any differences over Constantine's bleak assessment, which drew heavily from reports by the DEA agents in the field. "Factually there's very little difference between any of us," said Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the White House director of national drug policy, who supports certifying Mexico. McCaffrey said U.S. and Mexican officials agreed that drug-related crime in Mexico had grown rapidly and become more violent and that its administration of justice was inadequate. "If you want to protect the American people, you've got to work with Mexico for the next 15 years," McCaffrey said. Rand Beers, the assistant secretary of state for international narcotics and law-enforcement affairs, who also testified at the hearing, said Constantine had been careful to distinguish between the government and organized crime. "He was not saying it was the Mexican government that engaged in drug trafficking," Beers said. But Constantine made clear that Mexico had yet to staunch the flow of cocaine, heroin and marijuana across its U.S. border. He stressed that almost no traffickers of significance had been arrested and or extradited. When his agency asked Mexico to help capture one trafficker, Constantine said, officials replied, "It would be difficult to apprehend this individual, because he was too dangerous to pursue, due to the number of bodyguards and corrupt law-enforcement officials he employs." Constantine described a corruption so widespread that even sensitive information shared with elite anti-drug units reached traffickers. "Because of the unparalleled levels of corruption within Mexican law-enforcement agencies with whom we mu st work to insure that these individuals are brought to justice, our job is made that much more difficult," Constantine said. "Until we can work with our law-enforcement counterparts in a relationship that is free from suspicion, the burden to bring the drug lords before a jury of their victims' peers will remain largely ours." The failures listed by Constantine led Grassley to ask what Mexico would have to do to be refused recognition as an ally in the war against drugs. Beers referred to Colombia, which was denied certification after President Ernesto Samper had been accused of taking drug money for his re-election campaign. By contrast, Beers said, Mexico had made "significant progress" since President Ernesto Zedillo took office in December 1994. - --- MAP posted-by: Don Beck