Pubdate: Sat, 27 Feb 1999 Source: Associated Press Copyright: 1999 Associated Press Author: George Gedda, Associated Press Writer CLINTON'S MEXICO MOVE CRITICIZED WASHINGTON - Unhappy with President Clinton's decision to give high marks to Mexico's counternarcotics programs, some lawmakers contend that Clinton is looking too much at Mexico's efforts and not enough at results. Clinton "certified" on Friday that Mexico is a fully cooperating partner in the drug war despite a decline in narcotics seizures and an increase in opium poppy cultivation, among other setbacks. A group of senators led by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate caucus on drug issues, wrote to Clinton and urged that he follow strict criteria in February 2000 when, by law, certification decisions next come up. They recommended that the criteria include Mexico's willingness to extradite drug chieftains, its ability to arrest and prosecute money launderers and leaders of narcotics syndicates and its record on drug eradication and seizures. Clinton's decision drew outright opposition from House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt, D-Mo. "Mexico has not done enough to meet the requirements of our law," he said. Rep. Benjamin Gilman, R-N.Y., chairman of the House International Relations Committee, said Clinton's decision "cannot stand." The results of Mexico's counterdrug campaign, Gilman said, "are dismal." By law, countries found not to be fully cooperative are decertified and can be subject to economic sanctions unless the president grants them a waiver on national interest grounds. "Mexico is cooperating with us in the battle for our lives," Clinton said in a speech in San Francisco. Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo is "working hard to tackle the corruption traffickers headlong," he said, adding, "He cannot win this battle alone. And neither can we." Barry McCaffrey, who heads the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said that last year, Mexico implemented legislative reforms, arrested numerous drug traffickers and sustained massive interdiction and eradication programs. He told a news conference that outright decertification of Mexico would "devastate" efforts to build long-term cooperation. In Mexico City, Juan Rebolledo, undersecretary at the Foreign Secretariat, said Mexico was happy "that an obstacle has not been imposed to cooperation." Vicente Yanez, president of the National Chamber of Manufacturing Industries, said in a radio interview, "It should be us who certify the United States," a reference to the U.S. demand that causes drug trafficking. Meanwhile, Colombia, decertified with a national interest waiver last year, was elevated to fully certified status on Friday. The move was seen as a gesture to Colombian President Andres Pastrana, with whom the administration has established close ties during his six months in office. Haiti, plagued by what officials called a "dysfunctional criminal justice system," was decertified with a national interest waiver. In the same category were Cambodia, Nigeria and Paraguay. Afghanistan and Burma, key opium poppy countries, were decertified with no national interest waiver. - --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea