| Fox proposing that Mexico, U.S. share intelligence 04/11/2001 By Ricardo Sandoval / The Dallas Morning News MEXICO CITY – Mexican President Vicente Fox is proposing that the United States and Mexico share intelligence on everything from drug and arms trafficking to money laundering.
Under the plan, the cooperation would even allow U.S. anti-drug officials to help scrutinize Mexican drug officers and security officials.
Mexican National Security Secretary Adolfo Aguilar Zinser will offer the plan Wednesday to U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, said a senior Mexican official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The cooperative deal with the United States is part of a bold plan by Mexico to strike new intelligence deals with several countries with common interests.
Fox administration officials said they were talking with Colombia, for example, about sharing intelligence on drugs and illicit weapons traffickers – a deal similar to the one they'll propose to the United States. And with Spain, Mexico will do more to help combat Basque terrorists who in the past have used Mexico as a haven.
"This is our master plan for cooperation with countries with common problems," said the Fox administration official. "We want our partners, like the United States, to trust us and to offer reciprocal cooperation."
But the trust of U.S. law enforcement officials will be difficult to win. Mr. Aguilar Zinser's offer of greater cooperation and joint screening of drug agents is not new.
Cooperatively screened police and drug units have been tried before by the United States and Mexico, but they've failed because of U.S. mistrust of Mexican police and corruption among Mexican officers, said a former U.S. drug official who asked not to be identified.
Mr. Aguilar Zinser was meeting with U.S. Justice Department officials late Tuesday and could not be reached for comment.
But other Mexican officials familiar with the plan said Mr. Fox was keenly aware of past failures and would win American trust "with deeds and results."
"We are dismantling the cartels; we are arresting high-ranking military officers," said a senior Fox administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Yes, corruption has blocked our efforts in the past, but we need new levels of cooperation with the United States to make a real difference."
Right now, Fox administration officials said, there is little intelligence swapped, for example, between the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Mexican army, which has thousands of soldiers on active anti-drug duty.
"There has been a reason for the lack of trust," said Ana Maria Salazar, a former U.S. Defense Department drug policy administrator who now teaches at the Mexican Autonomous Technical Institute. "Mexico will have to put its money where its mouth is and really show some results."
Mr. Aguilar Zinser's offer comes just days after the arrest of another Mexican army general accused of having ties to drug traffickers, as well as the arrest of several midlevel members of the Gulf Cartel and an emerging ring of drug dealers in Mexico City's rough-and-tumble Tepito commercial district.
Still, U.S. officials have their doubts and are likely to give Mr. Aguilar Zinser's proposal a lukewarm reception, analysts said.
Experts said previous Mexican administrations have promised close cooperation but rarely delivered. Mr. Fox, however, is enjoying a high level of good will from officials in Washington because of his clean reputation and because his sweeping presidential victory last year toppled a long-ruling party riddled with drug scandals.
Although Mexican officials said that allowing U.S. authorities to screen Mexican anti-drug agents was important, they cautioned that it was just one part of a comprehensive deal they're offering in Washington.
"We will discuss key issues like the exchange of intelligence on money laundering," said Mayolo Medina, executive secretary of Mexico's Public Security System, after returning Monday from advance meetings with U.S. Justice Department officials.
He added that Mexico hopes to beef up surveillance of drug-money laundering and cash-transaction reporting requirements to match those of the United States.
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