[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 24 (Friday, February 28, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S1791]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         MEXICAN CERTIFICATION

  Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I rise to address an issue which has been 
raised by other Members on this floor, which I believe is of great 
significance and which must be resolved in the next few days. That is 
that the Clinton administration has a difficult matter of rendering a 
decision, in consultation with the Secretary of State, as to whether or 
not to certify Mexico as a nation that is cooperating in the area of 
our war on drugs.
  There are many factors to consider before making such a decision, but 
the primary factor for me is what effect does such a decision have on 
our ability to fight the use of drugs here in the United States? Drug 
abuse continues to be one of the primary serious problems, primary and 
most serious problems, our Nation is facing, especially among our young 
people in our inner cities. Fighting drugs has to be one of the most 
important goals of this administration and of this Congress.
  Since the so-called certification process was begun in the mid-
1980's, Mexico has always been deemed to be a nation that is making a 
strong effort in the drug war, and many of us in Congress have had 
concerns, and continue to have concerns, about Mexico's progress.
  So at some point, you have to evaluate the effects of bestowing 
certification status on Mexico. Has certification improved Mexico's 
ability to deal with drug cartels? Have cocaine seizures increased? Are 
drug dealers being arrested and convicted? Are antimoney-laundering 
bills being enacted into law in Mexico? And finally, and perhaps most 
important, are the Mexican law enforcement agencies cooperating with us 
and are they free of corruption?
  It is this last point that I think remains the most single 
significant concern and impediment to certification. The arrest of the 
Mexican General Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, the Mexican drug czar in 
charge of Mexico's counternarcotics efforts, on a charge of bribery, 
cocaine trafficking and for having ties to organized crime leaders in 
Mexico's drug cartels, was, in the words of our own United States drug 
czar, General McCaffrey, a ``terrible blow.'' It really is more than 
that, of course. To have the chief law enforcement officer in the area 
of drug enforcement in Mexico turn out to be nothing more than a front 
man for the Mexican drug cartels undermines all credibility of the 
effort of Mexico in the area of fighting drugs.
  Our intelligence agencies are now conducting a damage assessment to 
establish how many of our agents, informants and counterdrug operatives 
were put at risk. It is believed that a very large number have been put 
at risk, and, in fact, the damage to this intelligence network may 
exceed the damage that was created in the CIA by the Aldrich Ames case. 
If you remember, in the Aldrich Ames case a large number of agents and 
operatives for the CIA died.
  When you add up the evidence about the results of certification, you 
have to wonder what effect it has had on stemming the flow of drugs 
into this country. Mexico is the source of 70 percent of the cocaine on 
American streets and is the growing source of the most violent types of 
drugs. The primary cartels which are now shipping their drugs to the 
United States are no longer centered in Colombia. They are two cartels 
centered in Mexico. The antimoney-laundering laws are incomplete and 
not yet implemented. In short, the battle against drugs being shipped 
to the United States from Mexico is being lost in Mexico.
  In light of the ongoing corruption and the flow of drugs into our 
Nation, I believe the United States must withhold full certification. 
The cost of drug abuse to our society remains too high to take any 
other course. There is no doubt that on the domestic front, we can do a 
great deal more, and we must. In fact, it was unfortunate that this 
administration essentially ignored this problem during its first term, 
but the administration has now turned its attention to this issue, and, 
hopefully, we can make greater progress. We need strong leadership from 
the White House. The President does control the bully pulpit and, as we 
saw with Mrs. Reagan's efforts under the ``Just Say No'' program in the 
eighties, the White House can have a dramatic effect on utilization.
  But at the same time, we must pursue a more effective policy that 
will cut off the flow of drugs from source countries like Mexico. I 
believe that withholding full certification to Mexico would send the 
right message from the American people to the Government of Mexico, and 
that message is that the status quo is not acceptable. I urge the 
President to hear the concerns of our agents on the front lines who 
cannot trust their Mexican counterparts for fear of being compromised. 
As the DEA Administrator, Mr. Constantine, stated, ``There is not one 
single law enforcement institution with whom DEA has a really trusting 
relationship.''
  It is time, Mr. President, to take strong action, and I strongly 
suggest that we not pursue certification.

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