[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 65 (Friday, May 16, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4647-S4649]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
COUNTERDRUG COOPERATION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO
Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, on May 14, 1997, I along with my
colleague, Senator Feinstein of California, received a communique from
President Clinton that I would like to read at this point. It says:
Dear Senator Coverdell: Thank you for your letter regarding
counterdrug cooperation between the United States and
Mexico. I want to take this opportunity to tell you about
my visit to Mexico and the efforts my Administration is
making to advance our counternarcotics strategy in a
bipartisan spirit.
President Zedillo and I had a full and frank discussion on
ways we can achieve greater progress toward attacking the
abuse and trafficking of illegal drugs. The Binational Drug
Threat Assessment report that General McCaffrey and Attorney
General Madrazo presented to us sets forth in plain terms a
common view of all aspects of the drug phenomena striking at
our societies. On that basis, President Zedillo and I agreed
to form
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an Alliance Against Drugs, which commits our two governments
to prepare a common counterdrug strategy this year to achieve
16 specific objectives.
These objectives, which reflect your own thoughtful
contributions, include reducing demand through anti-drug
information campaigns directed at our youth, bringing the
leaders of criminal organizations to justice through
strengthened law enforcement cooperation, attacking
corruption, improving extradition (for example, by
negotiating a protocol to the extradition treaty to allow
trials in both countries prior to completion of sentences in
either country), fully implementing laws to combat money
laundering and increasing interdiction and eradication.
Achieving all these objectives in the short term is
unrealistic, but I believe we can make progress and that
President Zedillo's effort to restructure Mexico's anti-drug
forces is an essential starting point.
I want to keep the Congress informed of the progress we are
making toward achieving the objectives set forth in my 1997
National Drug Control Strategy and the U.S.-Mexico Alliance
Against Drugs. ONDCP Director McCaffrey will provide further
details on these issues to Members of both Houses in the near
future. My Administration will also provide the Congress by
September 1, 1997, a report covering each of the issues
contained in the Senate resolution passed in March as
elaborated in your recent letter and discussions with my
Administration. In addition, we will provide reports, as you
have requested, commenting on prospects for multilateral
hemispheric cooperation and on the feasibility of enhancing
truck inspections at the border.
I appreciate your continued efforts to work with my
Administration to ensure that our children face a future free
of drugs and the crime they breed.
Sincerely,
Bill Clinton.
Mr. President, this letter is in direct response to the legislation
offered by myself and Senator Feinstein in March of this year, passed
overwhelmingly by the Senate but which had not yet become law because
of differences between the House and the Senate.
Because the President was going to be in Mexico and in Central
America, that led to extensive discussions between myself and Senator
Feinstein and the administration, culminating with a discussion between
myself and the National Security Adviser, Sandy Berger, during the trip
to Mexico wherein the administration agreed to provide this letter of
assurances to myself and Senator Feinstein, and in spirit the Congress
and the other Senators who worked so diligently to pass these
legislative proposals.
From my point of view--and the Senator will speak for herself--it is
a new platform. It is an acknowledgement of the issues that the Senator
and I were trying to bring before the Congress, the Nation and the
people of Mexico. I personally accept it in the spirit of cooperation
and eagerly await the information to be provided to us in September.
From my point of view, it is the acceptance of the point that was being
made during the debate that the status quo was unacceptable for either
country and that we had to move to a new era of more candor and more
realism about the ravaging drug war and the damage it has done to both
our countries and to the hemispheric democracy. So, I appreciate the
National Security Adviser's conversation. I believe he and the
administration fulfilled the discussion, at least to the level that I
had it.
I appreciate, again, and want to acknowledge the work of the Senator
from California on this issue. It has been very dedicated, very
focused, and very meaningful. I have enjoyed working with her on this
matter. I believe the drug war in our hemisphere could potentially
destabilize the hemisphere. It is doing enormous damage to the youth of
our country and is an issue that must receive far more attention than
it has to date. I hope this communique is not the end, but the
beginning of much more work to be done by the Members of the Senate and
the Congress.
With that, Mr. President, I yield the floor. I see my colleague from
California is prepared to talk on the subject, and I welcome her
remarks.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from California, by previous
order, is recognized for up to 10 minutes.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I want to begin by thanking the senior
Senator from Georgia for his leadership in this matter. This has been a
difficult area, I think, for both of us, because I believe we both
respect Mexico. We know that Mexico is an ally, a friend, a neighbor,
and we want to see relations become much better and much more fully
developed. We do not want to see a rift continuing to develop, so, we
have worked with that spirit in mind. Yet, one can want this equal
partnership but also continue to point out the facts of what is
happening in our States and our region, and particularly along the
southwest border. So I thank the Senator from Georgia for his
leadership. It has been, as he knows, a great pleasure for me to be
able to work with him. It has been a wonderful experience. We will keep
it going.
I also want to extend my thanks to the President and to the National
Security Adviser, Sandy Berger. Both Senator Coverdell, as he
indicated, and I--we have met separately with the administration. We
have both made the same request that this report, described by our
Senate resolution, be rendered by the administration to this body.
Let me begin by saying the administration could easily have said no.
There is no legislative vehicle that accompanies this request. But they
did agree, in our negotiations, to honor this request, and they have
kept that commitment and, in effect, will produce the report on
September 1. I am heartened by that. As my colleague just spoke, we are
heartened because we hope it will be a new day of cooperation between
the executive and the legislative branches in what is rapidly becoming
the soft underbelly of this Nation as well as the Mexican nation, and
that of course is drugs.
As many know, I have a bill which is now in the Judiciary Committee's
bill called the Gang Violence Act. What we have discovered is that
drugs are fueling a new extension of gangs working across the States.
One of the steps I am hopeful this body will be taking is passage of
that bill and, in essence, applying to street gangs, who are organized
and moving across State lines, the same racketeering statutes that we
would apply to Mafia-type organized crime--expanding the Travel Act,
putting in asset seizures and forfeitures, effectively doubling Federal
penalties for Americans who participate in major drug trafficking, gun
running, and other criminal activity, across State lines.
So, we will take major steps in this Nation to combat our problem,
which is one of demand for drugs. The report that we have asked the
administration to produce will deal with Mexico's progress in the
following areas:
Efforts to combat drug cartels--four big Mexican drug cartels are
operating with impunity beyond our border; bilateral law enforcement
cooperation--we are very interested in a partnership between our Drug
Enforcement Administration and Mexican drug authorities, but to have
our agents in Mexico unable to arm themselves makes no sense,
particularly with the record of assassination that the cartels have
established; improved border enforcement--obvious; extradition of
Mexican nationals wanted in the United States on drug charges;
implementation of money-laundering laws; increased crop eradication;
rooting out corruption; and improved air and maritime cooperation. All
of these points are elucidated in our Senate resolution requesting this
report, and the administration has agreed, unilaterally, to provide it.
For that I am very thankful.
Let me talk about one area, and that area is extradition. This is an
area which for me is a litmus test as to whether there is cooperation.
I want to give one case that was just written up in the May 13, 1997
Los Angeles Times by Anne-Marie O'Connor. It is not a traditional case,
in terms of names like Amado Carillo-Fuentes--well-known cartel names.
This case deals with a family by the name of Reynoso: Antonio Reynoso
and two brothers, Jose and Jesus Reynoso. They were indicted among 22
alleged members of a vast ring that transported cocaine from Mexico to
Los Angeles to Chicago and to New Jersey, using Lear jets, boilers, and
canned vegetables. They are named in an extradition request presented
by this country to the Mexican Government. Last September, Jose Reynoso
pled guilty on a drug-smuggling charge. Both Antonio and Jesus are
under indictment for conspiracy to import and possess cocaine with
intent to distribute, as well as for money laundering. In the last 2
years, they have built a magnificent home within a
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stone's throw of the border between San Diego and Tijuana. There is a
small picture in the Los Angeles Times, which shows the border fence
and then this drug lord's home right across the border fence. I want to
describe it to you for a moment. I am quoting from the Los Angeles
Times.
To their profound annoyance, Justice Department officials
say, Reynoso, 53, is putting the finishing touches on an
ostentatious walled residence that backs right up to the U.S.
border. If he wanted to, he could hit a tennis ball into San
Diego County.
The article goes on to describe the mansion:
Encircled by a forbidding wall that ascends 35 feet,
chateau Reynoso rises like a ship over San Diego County, not
far from a binational gulch called ``Smuggler's Canyon.''
[Where I have been.] With its turret, a glass pool atrium and
a dazzling green roof worthy of Oz, it is so conspicuous that
Border Patrol agents sometimes point it out to visitors.
U.S. law enforcement officers note its fortress
architecture and its protected position at the end of a
narrow cul-de-sac. So close to the United States, they
complain, yet so far from a San Diego courtroom.
``I wish we could just tunnel back and grab him,'' a
Justice Department attorney said.
Then it goes on to say:
. . . Reynoso's name has appeared on lists of traffickers
given to Mexican authorities by United States Attorney
General Janet Reno. But no discernible action has been taken.
U.S. officials have no indications that Reynoso is even a
wanted man in Mexico.
This same family was the mastermind behind a huge tunnel, 60 feet
below the ground, between Otay Mesa and San Diego. This tunnel had
electricity, it had air conditioning, and it was used by this family to
smuggle drugs under the border into the United States. It was one of
the most sophisticated tunnels, really, ever known. This family spent
$1.1 million buying the lot in Otay Mesa where the passage's exit was
to be located.
This is a clear indication, I believe, of what Senator Coverdell and
I will be looking for in terms of actions taken by the Mexican
Government. We will have another round on certification. It is
important to both of us, as well as, I believe, to a majority of this
body, that there be actions taken in this equal partnership between the
United States and Mexico. Let me just summarize.
The response from a good friend, a neighbor, and an ally that drugs
are exclusively a U.S. problem is simply not adequate. We admit that we
have a demand problem. We have taken steps to strengthen our laws, to
allocate funds for prevention programs. Still, we know we must do more
and we are willing to say we will and do it.
But when Mexican nationals run meth labs throughout California--and
over 700 meth labs have been seized by the State Bureau of Narcotic
Enforcement in California alone in the last year, 700 of them--and
Mexico refuses to enforce its border, the drug problem is not our
problem alone.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair advises the Senator her 10 minutes
have expired.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. May I ask for 1 minute to wrap up, please?
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. When drug cartels are brazen enough to kill
Government officials and church leaders in cold blood, the drug problem
is not our problem alone. When the cartels are operating with such
impunity that they do not hesitate to bribe officials on both sides of
the border and, as ``Nightline'' has just pointed out, to buy up
businesses along the border, the drug problem is not our problem alone.
So the drug problem is a problem for both sides. What we need is a
cooperative effort of both nations acting as full partners. Neither the
United States nor Mexico can win this battle alone.
The report that the President has now committed to provide to the
Congress on September 1 will be an important indicator of whether or
not Mexico has taken the decision to approach this terrible problem in
a cooperative partnership and in a fully committed way. Unless the
report can cite significant and demonstrable progress in cooperation,
the answer, very sadly, will be that Mexico has not yet taken such a
decision. I hope that is not the case on September 1.
To me, this report is very meaningful. The point I want to make is
that I believe the expectation of a majority of this body is that there
be tangible and substantial steps taken that are visible, discernible,
and real to combat the cartels and to stop the corruption, the bribing,
and the sort of total disregard for law which is now characteristic of
the situation.
I, for one, will watch the extradition picture especially carefully.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the May 14 letter from
the President be printed in the Record, I thank the Presiding Officer
for his forbearance, and I yield the floor.
The White House,
Washington, DC, May 14, 1997.
Hon. Dianne Feinstein,
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Dianne: Thank you for your letter regarding
counterdrug cooperation between the United States and Mexico.
I want to take this opportunity to tell you about my visit to
Mexico and the efforts my Administration is making to advance
our counternarcotics strategy in a bipartisan spirit.
President Zedillo and I had a full and frank discussion on
ways we can achieve greater progress toward attacking the
abuse and trafficking of illegal drugs. The Binational Drug
Threat Assessment Report that General McCaffrey and Attorney
General Madrazo presented to us sets forth in plain terms a
common view of all aspects of the drug phenomena striking at
our societies. On that basis, President Zedillo and I agreed
to form an Alliance Against Drugs, which commits our two
governments to prepare a common counterdrug strategy this
year to achieve 16 specific objectives.
These objectives, which reflect your own thoughtful
contributions, include reducing demand through anti-drug
information campaigns directed at our youth, bringing the
leaders of criminal organizations to justice through
strengthened law enforcement cooperation, attacking
corruption, fully implementing laws to combat money
laundering and increasing interdiction and eradication.
Achieving all these objectives in the short term is
unrealistic, but I believe we can make progress and that
President Zedillo's effort to restructure Mexico's anti-drug
forces is an essential starting point.
I want to keep the Congress informed of the progress we are
making toward achieving the objectives set forth in my 1997
National Drug Control Strategy and the U.S.-Mexico Alliance
Against Drugs. ONDCP Director McCaffrey will provide further
details on these issues to Members of both Houses in the near
future. My Administration will also provide the Congress by
September 1, 1997, a report covering each of the issues
contained in the Senate resolution passed in March as
elaborated in your recent letter and discussions with my
Administration. In addition, we will provide reports, as you
have requested, commenting on prospects for multilateral
hemispheric cooperation and on the feasibility of enhancing
truck inspections at the border.
I appreciate your continued efforts to work with my
Administration to ensure that our children face a future free
of drugs and the crime they breed.
Sincerely,
Bill Clinton.
There being no objection, the letter was ordered to be printed in the
Record, as follows:
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator suggest the absence of a
quorum?
Mr. COVERDELL. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Roberts). Is there objection to the order
for the quorum call being rescinded? Without objection, it is so
ordered.
____________________