    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book I)]
    [May 6, 1997]
    [Pages 556-558]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Declaration of Mexican and United States Alliance Against Drugs
    May 6, 1997

        Drug abuse and drug trafficking are a danger to our societies, an
    affront to our sovereignty and a threat to our national security. We
    declare our nations united in an alliance to combat this menace.
        With trust in one another and in our commitment as Chiefs of State,
    our collaboration will go forward based on the following fundamental
    principles: a) absolute respect for the sovereignty and territorial
    jurisdiction of Mexico and the United States; b) shared responsibility
    for confronting the problem of illegal drugs and related crimes, such as
    illegal arms trafficking and money laundering; c) adoption of an
    integrated approach against illegal drugs, which will

    [[Page 557]]

    confront the problem from the demand and supply side simultaneously; d)
    balance and reciprocity in the actions, programs and rules developed to
    confront the drug threat in both countries; and e) effective application
    of the laws in both countries.
        Our governments have issued a joint threat assessment detailing the
    nature of illegal drug use in both our societies, and the extent of drug
    trafficking and related crimes as they threaten both our peoples. Mexico
    and the United States are fully agreed on the magnitude of the problem
    in both countries, and are determined to combat it with all resources at
    our disposal.
        Accordingly, we have instructed our responsible Cabinet Officers,
    acting through the U.S./Mexico High Level Contact Group for Drug
    Control, to work out a common counterdrug strategy, and to develop
    mutually reinforcing implementation plans for this common strategy,
    consistent with each other's National Drug Control Programs.
        Acting together in accordance with this political commitment, and
    working to enhance trust, mutual support and confidence, Mexico and the
    United States will:
        Reduce the demand for illicit drugs through the
                intensification of anti-drug information and educational
                efforts, particularly those directed at young people, and
                through rehabilitative programs.
        Reduce the production and distribution of illegal drugs in
                both countries, particularly marijuana, methanphetamine,
                cocaine and heroin.
        Focus law enforcement efforts against criminal organizations
                and those who facilitate their operations in both countries.
        Strengthen U.S./Mexican law enforcement cooperation and
                policy coordination, and assure the safety of law
                enforcement officers.
        Ensure that fugitives are expeditiously and with due legal
                process, brought to justice and are unable to evade justice
                in one of our countries by fleeing to or remaining in the
                other. To this end, we agree to negotiate a protocol to the
                extradition treaty that, consistent with the legal system in
                each country, will allow, under appropriate circumstances
                and conditions, individuals to be tried in both countries
                prior to the completion of their sentence in either country.
        Identify the sources of, and deter the illegal traffic in
                firearms.
        Work together to conclude a hemispheric agreement outlawing
                illegal traffic in firearms.
        Work together for the success of the Special Session of the
                U.N. General Assembly on Illicit Drugs in June 1998.
        Increase the abilities of our democratic institutions to
                attack and root out the corrupting influence of the illegal
                drug trade in both countries.
        Enhance cooperation along both sides of our common border to
                increase security.
        Control essential and precursor chemicals to prevent
                chemical diversion and illicit use, and improve information
                exchange on this subject.
        Implement more effectively the laws and regulations to
                detect and penalize money laundering in both countries, and
                enhance bilateral and multilateral exchanges of information
                and expertise to combat money laundering.
        Seize and forfeit the proceeds and instrumentalities of drug
                trafficking, and direct these to the use of drug prevention
                and law enforcement, in accordance with legal procedures in
                force in and between our countries.
        Improve our capacity to interrupt drug shipments by air,
                land, and sea.
        Implement training and technical cooperation programs to
                ensure that anti-drug personnel acquire needed capabilities
                and perform with the highest level of professionalism and
                integrity.
        Enhance and facilitate exchange of information and evidence
                to prosecute and convict criminals and deter drug
                trafficking; and ensure the security and appropriate use of
                the information and evidence provided.
        Our Alliance's counterdrug strategy, along with respective plans of
    operations for its implementation shall be completed by the end of the
    year. Prior to that we will meet again with our respective responsible
    Cabinet Officers to resolve any outstanding issues, and review the
    progress in our cooperation.

    [[Page 558]]

        In pursuance of this Alliance Against Drugs, we hereby pledge the
    fullest support of ourselves and of our governments to construct drug
    free societies for the twenty-first century.

              William J. Clinton              Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon
                   President                            President
         The United States of America          Federal Republic of Mexico

    Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of
    this declaration.