{
  "id": "RL30475",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30475",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101806,
      "date": "2000-03-16",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:38:01.441941",
      "title": "Mexico's Counter-Narcotics Efforts Under Zedillo, December 1994 to March 2000",
      "summary": "This report provides information on Mexico's counter-narcotics efforts under President Ernesto\nZedillo, with emphasis on the last year, as the Congress is considering President Clinton's decision,\non March 1, 2000, to certify that Mexico was fully cooperative in drug control efforts. The report \nfocuses on (1) Mexico's share of illicit drug traffic to the United States, (2) Mexico's efforts to\ncontrol drug trafficking (seizures, arrests, eradication), and (3) Mexico's cooperation with the United\nStates in counter-narcotics efforts.\n   Share of Traffic.  Mexico continued to be the transit point for about 55-60%\n of the cocaine\nentering the United States from South America last year, although estimates vary, and more cocaine\nmay be coming through other areas as a result of enhanced Mexican interdiction efforts in recent\nyears. Mexico also continued to be a major source country for heroin, marijuana, and\nmethamphetamine.\n   Control Efforts.  Mexican  seizures  of opium,\n methamphetamine, and heroin in 1999 were up\ndramatically from the previous years, and seizures of cocaine and marijuana in 1999 were also up\nsignificantly compared to most recent years, although a comparison to the highly criticized\nperformance in 1998 alone would be misleading. Total  arrests  were up in 1999,\ncompared to 1998\nand from 1994-1995, but down from 1996-1997. Several major traffickers were arrested in 1999,\nincluding Juan Quintero Payan, a founder and leader of the Amado Carillo Fuentes or Juarez Cartel,\nand two key associates). Some important suspects remain in custody pending extradition to the\nUnited States, after Mexican courts dismissed charges in some cases.  Eradication \nof opium\ndeclined in 1999, but with declining areas of cultivation, the potential yield declined to a near-record\nlow. Eradication of marijuana nearly doubled in 1999, and with declining cultivation, the potential\nyield was down to the lowest level in recent years. \n   Cooperative Efforts.  U.S.-Mexico counter-narcotics cooperation continued\n at unprecedented\nlevels in 1999, with the full range of law enforcement, military, border, and drug control agencies\nbeing involved. However, Mexico asked the United States to retrieve 72 Huey helicopters donated\nfor counter-drug missions, after determining that they were not adequate for the intended missions. \nWhen President Clinton visited Mexico in mid-February 1999, the countries signed agreements on\nprocedures to coordinate law enforcement efforts, and on measures to gauge the effectiveness of the\njoint anti-drug strategy. In November 1999, the two governments established a new interdiction\nworking group under the High Level Contact Group. The countries have been cooperating on U.N.\nand OAS anti-drug activities, including the agreement of the Inter-American Drug Control\nCommission (CICAD) in October 1999 to adopt a multilateral evaluation mechanism (MEM) to\nassess the counter-narcotics performance of all member countries. Critics argue that Mexico has\nmade inadequate efforts to dismantle the major drug cartels, to extradite Mexican citizens to the\nUnited States on drug-related charges, and to enforce the country's new anti-money-laundering\nlegislation.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL30475",
          "sha1": "3abdbd587800ee8e027fff61f7da943c32ffb954",
          "filename": "files/20000316_RL30475_3abdbd587800ee8e027fff61f7da943c32ffb954.pdf",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20000316_RL30475_3abdbd587800ee8e027fff61f7da943c32ffb954.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "Latin American Affairs",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}