U.S. Offers Mexico $6 Million To Rebuild Drug Police Narcotics Enforcement Likely To Be Prime Topic Of Clinton Visit To Mexico
Paving the way for President Clinton’s first state visit in Latin America, U.S. officials said Monday they have offered the Mexican government $6 million to rebuild its anti-narcotics forces.
The announcement came at the end of a full day of talks between Cabinet-level officials of both countries who attended the 14th gathering here of the Binational Commission, a panel created in the early 1980s to foster discussions between the two nations.
The U.S. offer of drug enforcement aid underscores what is expected to be one of the chief topics of concern when Clinton meets Tuesday with Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo.
Zedillo abolished Mexico’s top anti-narcotics agency, the National Institute to Combat Drugs, last week after revelations that its former head, Army Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, was on the payroll of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartel.
Gutierrez Rebollo was arrested in February, heightening calls on Capitol Hill for Clinton to “decertify” Mexico as a partner on the war on drugs.
While the president refused to take that step, the controversy has spawned tensions between U.S. and Mexican authorities, as well as resentment among the Mexican populace.
“It would be a tragedy for both our countries that drug traffickers would benefit while our governments are involved in a sterile and irritating exercise of allocating blame,” Angel Gurria, Mexico’s secretary of foreign affairs, said as he opened the Binational Commission meetings.
Later in the day, it was revealed that U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright offered Mexican authorities $6 million - three times what the State Department gave Mexico for drug-fighting efforts last year - to help the country build a new drug agency.
The money will be used primarily to train new drug enforcement officers, a State Department spokesman said.
“My government applauds President Zedillo’s personal commitment, and that of Mexico’s government, to cooperate with us in this drug fight,” Albright said. “We have seen your courage in denouncing and unmasking corruption.”
However, sticky issues still remain. Zedillo has rejected Clinton’s suggestion that U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officers be allowed to carry arms in Mexican territory, and the issue of officer safety is expected to be raised when Clinton and Zedillo meet Tuesday.
Before leaving the White House for his trip to Mexico City on Monday, Clinton told Mexican television interviewers he is most concerned about the ability of DEA agents to protect themselves.
“We’re working with the Mexican government on that and I think we’ll work through that,” Clinton said. “I understand there are arguments back and forth.”