[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 15 (Monday, April 15, 1996)]
[Pages 631-634]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Memorandum on Cooperation With Mexico on Drug Control

April 8, 1996

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies

Subject: Strengthening Drug Control Cooperation with Mexico

    This memorandum is to direct actions that will be taken by executive 
departments and agencies to improve the effectiveness of United States-
Mexico drug control cooperation.
    The Seriousness of the Drug Trafficking Threat to the United States 
and Mexico:
    Drug abuse and drug trafficking pose enormous threats to the 
American and Mexican people. The health of our youth and the safety of 
our neighborhoods are at stake. The powers of our democratic 
institutions and of our law enforcement organizations are challenged by 
international criminal organizations that operate seamlessly across our 
borders. Multi-ton quantities of cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and now 
methamphetamine, find their way to American streets far from our 
borders, much of it having come across our common border.
    A Joint United States-Mexico Commitment to Confront Drug 
Trafficking:
    On March 1, I certified to the Congress that the Government of 
Mexico cooperated fully to comply with the objectives of the 1988 United 
Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and 
Psychotropic Substances. President Zedillo and I have agreed to mount a 
sustained offensive against drug use, production, and trafficking 
organizations. We will arrest and bring drug traffickers to justice. We 
will make it more difficult for illegal profits to be laundered, and we 
will seize drug assets at every opportunity. We will work together to 
stop the illegal diversion of chemicals for drug manufacturing, and 
improve our capabilities to stop drugs at our border. To coordinate our 
efforts, Mexico and the United States formed a High Level Contact Group 
on Drug Control, which met for the first time March 27 in Mexico City. 
That group will continue indefinitely. It will meet next at the end of 
June in the United States, and thereafter in December, in Mexico.
    A United States Plan of Action for Increased Cooperation With 
Mexico:
    This directive prescribes specific measures that will be taken to 
accomplish these shared objectives; measures that will increase the 
effectiveness of the counter-drug cooperation between our two 
governments.
    1. Quantifying the Drug Trafficking Threat to Our Two Nations
    A prerequisite for more effective bilateral action is a shared and 
objective assessment of the level of drug production, trafficking 
activities, and the threat of corruption in both countries.
    In order to establish a common view of the problem, the Office of 
National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) will coordinate other United States 
Government agencies in order to work effectively with officials 
designated by President Zedillo to produce a white paper that 
comprehensively describes the threat posed by cultivation, production, 
and trafficking of drugs such as cocaine, her- 

[[Page 632]]

oin, marijuana, methamphetamine, and diversion of pharmaceuticals such 
as rohypnol, in both the United States and Mexico. Particular attention 
will be paid to drug trafficking activities across the Southwest border.
    This report will be presented to the U.S.-Mexico High Level Contact 
Group on Drugs during its next meeting in June.
    2. Developing a Joint Drug Control Strategy
    We need a strategy to provide general guidance and specific 
direction to the efforts of the departments and agencies of our two 
countries.
    I have directed the Director of National Drug Control Policy to 
expeditiously develop a binational drug control strategy in conjunction 
with the Government of Mexico. The strategy must increase the security 
and integrity of our shared border, while respecting the sovereign 
rights of each nation.
    3. Reducing the Demand for Illegal Drugs in Our Two Countries
    Prevention and treatment programs have contributed to a marked 
reduction in the number of drug users in the United States in the past 
decade. The number of casual drug users has dropped by almost half and 
the number of cocaine users by over a third. Mexico, likewise, has 
enjoyed positive results in its drug prevention programs. Both the 
United States and Mexico stand to benefit by sharing information on 
demand reduction programs that work.
    The Office of National Drug Control Policy will organize multi-
agency United States Government efforts to exchange expertise with 
appropriate organizations within the Mexican Government for information 
on successful reduction programs.
    In the interests of enriching bilateral information exchange, U.S. 
agencies should take steps to ensure that the Mexican Government 
receives copies of relevant public reports and published studies 
relating to drug abuse education, trafficking patterns, money 
laundering, and so forth. The two governments will also work jointly to 
develop a protocol for exchange of more sensitive information.
    4. Assessing U.S. Counter-drug Programs Along the Southwest Border
    The increasing two-way trade between our nations must not be 
permitted to be used as a cover for drug trafficking.
    I have directed the Departments of the Treasury, Justice, Defense, 
and other relevant agencies to conduct a comprehensive review of all 
Federal, State, and local efforts to prevent drug trafficking across the 
Southwest border.
    This review will be coordinated by the Office of National Drug 
Control Policy. It will also consider bilateral measures that can be 
taken to decrease the flow of drugs across the Southwest border. The 
results of this review shall be submitted to the President's Council on 
Counter-Narcotics within 180 days.
    5. Attacking Methamphetamine Production and Trafficking
    Methamphetamine has become the drug of choice in California and is 
becoming more common across the rest of the United States. Clandestine 
labs in both countries produce tons of this dangerous drug. The 
Department of Justice (DOJ) has just developed a concept to address 
domestic consumption, production, and trafficking of methamphetamine.
    The Department of Justice will continue to lead the U.S.-Mexico 
Plenary Group of Senior Law Enforcement Officials to produce a 
binational and interagency methamphetamine strategy. The DOJ will make 
regular reports to the High Level Contact Group through ONDCP of the 
progress and plans that result from the working sessions, and will 
report methamphetamine accomplishments at the next meeting of the High 
Level Contact Group.
    6. Controlling Essential and Precursor Chemicals
    Essential and precursor chemicals for the manufacture of all types 
of illegal drugs must be more carefully controlled.
    The Department of Justice will continue to lead the U.S.-Mexico 
Plenary Group of Senior Law Enforcement Officials to produce a 
binational and interagency strategy and action plan for chemical 
controls not included in the methamphetamine action plan. The DOJ will 
make regular reports on plans and progress through ONDCP to the High 
Level Contact Group.

[[Page 633]]

    7. Combating Money Laundering and Other Financial Crimes
    Drug trafficking organizations are profit oriented. Their illicit 
gains must be converted into legal instruments if the profit is to be 
realized. Money laundering is an essential component of the drug 
trafficking cycle.
    Working through the U.S.-Mexico Plenary Group of Senior Law 
Enforcement Officials, the Departments of State, Justice, and the 
Treasury will develop recommendations for strengthening legislation to 
combat drug and other serious crime-related money laundering activities 
in Mexico through a combination of criminal penalties, large value and 
suspicious transaction reporting, as well as laws providing for the 
seizure and forfeiture of the proceeds and instrumentalities of crime 
and for international cooperation in the tracing, forfeiting, and 
equitable sharing of such assets. In addition, the Departments that 
comprise the Plenary Group will produce a plan for training anti-money-
laundering law enforcement specialists, and a plan to expand the 
exchange of information to protect the integrity of financial 
institutions. They will report progress and plans through ONDCP to the 
High Level Contract Group.
    A report on progress achieved in this area will be presented to the 
U.S.-Mexico High Level Contract Group on Drugs during its next meeting 
in June.
    8. Improving Bilateral Law Enforcement Cooperation
    Bilateral U.S.-Mexican law enforcement cooperation is at an historic 
high. However, more can be done.
    The U.S.-Mexico Plenary Group of Senior Law Enforcement Officials 
will continue to be the principal coordinating mechanism for bilateral 
law enforcement cooperation. The Department of Justice will continue to 
lead that Group. The DOJ will make regular reports to the High Level 
Contact Group through ONDCP of the progress and plans that result from 
the working sessions, and will report law enforcement cooperation 
accomplishments at the next meeting of the High Level Contact Group. The 
basic principle to be followed is that coordination will be facilitated 
at the lowest possible echelons and produce measurable results.
    Recommendations from the Plenary Group will also be presented to the 
U.S.-Mexico High Level Contract Group on Drugs during its next meeting 
in June.
    9. Capturing Fugitives from Justice
    The principle that no felon should be able to escape justice by 
using a border defines the joint U.S.-Mexico approach to fugitive 
issues.
    The Department of Justice, operating through the U.S.-Mexico Plenary 
Group of Senior Law Enforcement Officials will improve the mechanism for 
return of fugitives from one country to the other. Those mechanisms will 
fully respect the absolute sovereignty of each nation's laws.
    The DOJ will make regular reports to the High Level Contact Group 
through ONDCP of the progress and plans that result from the Plenary 
Group sessions, and will report law enforcement cooperation 
accomplishments at the next meeting of the High Level Contact Group.
    10. Sharing Information and Helping Criminal Prosecution
    We must assure that criminals do not escape punishment because of an 
inability to investigate or produce evidence for trial.
    The U.S.-Mexico Plenary Group of Senior Level Law Enforcement 
Officials will produce recommendations for both countries to improve 
access to law enforcement and prosecutorial evidence and information. 
The Group will report its progress at the June meeting of the High Level 
Contact Group.
    11. Denying Our Sovereign Territory to Drug Trafficking
    International drug trafficking organizations routinely violate the 
sovereign air, land, and sea space of nations. We must find ways to 
shield our sovereign territories from these criminal violations.
    The ONDCP will coordinate an interagency effort to develop 
unilateral and bilateral measures to prevent drug traffickers from 
violating our sovereignty. Such measures must fully respect the 
undisputed sovereign authority of each government within its national 
territory. Participating departments will include Justice, State, the 
Treasury, and Defense. Particular attention will be paid to large 
shipments of illegal drugs to Mexico and the United States.

[[Page 634]]

    An interim report will be presented to the U.S.-Mexico High Level 
Contact Group on Drugs during its next meeting in June.
    12. Employing High Technology
    Mexico eradicated more drug crops than any other country in the 
world in 1995. The United States, likewise, has pursued a nationwide 
eradication effort. Technical exchanges, in such areas as use of high 
technology and environmental protection, will benefit the eradication 
programs of both countries.
    The ONDCP will coordinate an interdepartmental study on these 
issues. The study will be conducted in conjunction with the Government 
of Mexico. The Departments of Defense and State, and other relevant U.S. 
agencies will participate in this study.
    Specific recommendations will be submitted to the U.S.-Mexico High 
Level Contact Group on Drugs within 180 days.
    13. Summarizing Success
    The Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy is 
directed to submit a review of the results of cooperative U.S.-Mexico 
efforts against drug production and trafficking to the President's 
Council on Counter-Narcotics, prior to December 31, 1996.
    This memorandum shall be published in the Federal Register.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:46 a.m., April 9, 
1996]

Note: This memorandum was published in the Federal Register on April 10.