[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 9 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 9

  Expressing the sense of Congress regarding cooperation between the 
          United States and Mexico on counter-drug activities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 13, 1997

 Mrs. Hutchison (for herself, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Dodd, Mr. McCain, Mr. 
 Biden, and Mr. Lugar) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
        which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of Congress regarding cooperation between the 
          United States and Mexico on counter-drug activities.

Whereas the international drug trade poses a direct threat to the United States 
        and to international efforts to promote democracy, economic stability, 
        human rights, and the rule of law;
Whereas approximately 12,800,000 Americans use illegal drugs, including 
        1,500,000 cocaine users, 600,000 heroin addicts, and 9,800,000 smokers 
        of marijuana;
Whereas illegal drug use occurs among members of every ethnic and socioeconomic 
        group in the United States;
Whereas 10.9 percent of all children between 12 years and 17 years of age use 
        illegal drugs, and one child in four claims to have been offered illegal 
        drugs in the last year;
Whereas drug-related illness, death, and crime cost the United States 
        approximately $66,900,000,000 in 1996, including costs for lost 
        productivity, premature death, and incarceration;
Whereas effective treatment and prevention is required to break the cycle that 
        links illegal drugs to violent crime in the United States and to reduce 
        the social and economic costs to the United States of illegal drug use;
Whereas such treatment and prevention depend on our ability to prevent the flow 
        of illegal drugs through our borders through effective cooperation with 
        other nations;
Whereas according to the Department of State, Mexico is the source of between 20 
        and 30 percent of the heroin and 70 percent of the marijuana shipped 
        into the United States and is a transit point for between 50 and 70 
        percent of the cocaine shipped into the United States;
Whereas drug traffickers along the United States border with Mexico smuggle 
        approximately $10,000,000,000 worth of narcotics into the United States 
        annually, and the drug trade generates approximately $30,000,000,000 
        annually for the Mexican economy;
Whereas there has been a failure to take effective action against drug cartels 
        and other significant narcotics traffickers in Mexico, including the 
        Juarez and Tijuana drug cartels;
Whereas Mexico has failed to honor requests by the United States for extradition 
        of Mexican nationals indicted in our courts on drug-related charges;
Whereas the number of drug seizures in Mexico in 1996 was only half the number 
        of seizures in 1993, and the number of drug-related arrests in Mexico in 
        1996 was only half the number of such arrests in 1992;
Whereas there is evidence of official corruption in the counter-drug forces of 
        Mexico, including the recent arrest of General Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, 
        the highest-ranking counter-drug official of the Government of Mexico;
Whereas the Government of Mexico has refused to permit United States agents to 
        carry their weapons on the Mexican side of the United States border with 
        Mexico;
Whereas the banking and financial sectors in Mexico lack mechanisms to prevent 
        money laundering; and
Whereas the Department of the Treasury estimates the amount of drug-related 
        money-laundering in Mexico in 1996 at nearly $10,000,000,000: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress--
            (1) to express concern about ineffective and insufficient 
        progress by Mexico in halting the production in and transit 
        through Mexico of illegal drugs; and
            (2) to urge the President of the United States and the 
        President of Mexico to expand and strengthen their cooperative 
        relationship in order to make additional progress in halting 
        the production in and transit through Mexico of illegal drugs, 
        including meaningful progress in--
                    (A) the dismantlement of major drug cartels in 
                Mexico and the arrest of their leaders;
                    (B) the implementation by Mexico of effective 
                money-laundering legislation;
                    (C) the compliance of Mexico with outstanding 
                extradition requests by the United States, particularly 
                those requested for extradition of Mexican nationals 
                indicted in our courts on drug-related charges;
                    (D) the interdiction of the flow of narcotics and 
                other controlled substances across the land and sea 
                border between the United States and Mexico;
                    (E) the cooperation of Mexico with United States 
                law enforcement officials engaged in counter-drug 
                activities, including permission for United States 
                agents to carry weapons on the Mexico side of the 
                United States border; and
                    (F) the implementation by Mexico of a wide-ranging 
                program to identify, eliminate, and prosecute officials 
                in Mexico, including government, police, and military 
                officials, who are engaged in or corrupted by drug-
                related activities.
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