Drugs: DEA, Gen. McCaffrey, Clinton

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Subject: Drugs: DEA, Gen. McCaffrey, Clinton, Burma decert, 

Re: Drug Info: DEA, Gen. McCaffrey, Clinton, Burma decertification, DEA
job recruitment: special agents wanted. YES, YOU CAN BE A SPECIAL DEA
AGENT TOO! 

February 25 / Clinton Proposes $16 Billion to Fight Drugs
February 28/ List of certified, non-certified nations
February 28 /Clinton Meets Top Advisers On Mexico Decision
February 25 /Clinton Pressured to Get Tough with Mexico
March 1 / Drug lord escaped as U.S. pondered certifying  Mexico
Barry R. McCaffrey, Director /Office of National Drug Control Policy
ONDCP Recruitment Information
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February 25 / Clinton Proposes $16 Billion to Fight Drugs 

WASHINGTON (Reuter) - President Clinton proposed a record $16 billion
anti-drug 
effort for the next fiscal year, including $175 million for a major new
national media campaign.

The White House said the $16 billion for the budget year starting next
Oct.1 was the 
largest anti-drug budget in history, $800 million over the current
fiscal year.

"This new initiative provides up to $175 million to fund a major new
national anti-drug media campaign," a White House statement said. It
will
include public service announcements targeted at young people and their
parents on the consequences of drug abuse.

The budget will also include $75 million for drug courts, a 150 percent
increase which the White House said would offer a voluntary alternative
to
incarceration for non-violent offenders.

It also includes $42 million, a 40 percent increase, for the costs
associated with drug-testing of those arrested.

+++++++++++++

February 28,1997/ List of certified, non-certified nations

WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 (UPI)  -- President Clinton announced Friday the
nations
he has certified " or not certified " as cooperating with U.S. anti-drug
programs.

By law, nations that are not certified face losing most forms of
assistance
and U.S. support in getting financing from such multilateral lenders as
the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

- NOT CERTIFIED
Afghanistan
Burma
Colombia
Iran
Nigeria
Syria

- CERTIFIED
Bahamas
Belize
Bolivia
Brazil
Cambodia
China
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Guatemala
Haiti
Hong Kong
India
Jamaica
Laos
Lebanon
Malaysia
Mexico
Pakistan
Panama
Peru
Taiwan
Thailand
Venezuela
Vietnam

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February 28 /Clinton Meets Top Advisers On Mexico Decision

WASHINGTON (Reuter) - President Clinton met Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright and other top advisers on Friday to hear her recommendation on
whether to certify Mexico as a U.S. ally in the drug war.

Top aides gave indications the United States would certify its southern
neighbor as helping to fight drug trafficking, thus avoiding a cut-off
in
some U.S. aid, economic sanctions and a blow to Mexico's national pride.

But there was also a possibility Clinton could "decertify" Mexico as
punishment for a lack of anti-narcotics efforts, but waive any sanctions
for now to give Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo time to show he is
working on it.

"It's definitely a live option," said one U.S. official.

An absolute decertification of Mexico with its accompanying automatic
economic sanctions seemed a remote possibility. Clinton is to visit
Mexico
in mid-April.

Forty U.S. senators, led by California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein,
have laid out a strong case for punishing Mexico in a letter to Clinton,
saying Mexico's anti-narcotics effort is ineffectual and suffers from
corruption in the government and the national police.

Feinstein urged Clinton to decertify Mexico and "send a strong signal to
Mexico and the world that the United States will not tolerate lack of
cooperation in the fight against narcotics."

White House spokesman Mike McCurry told reporters he would not rule out
Clinton making a final decision on the hotly debated issue on Friday but
it
could require more work and conceivably could lapse until Monday. The
deadline for action is supposed to be Saturday.

Another official, however, said there was "still a good possibility" of
a
decision on Friday afternoon.

Aides said Clinton would not necessarily be bound by whatever Albright
recommended.

Clinton must decide whether he will approve or disqualify Mexico, which
shares a 2,000-mile (3,200-km) border with America, and 31 other
countries
in an annual evaluation known as the "certification" process.

Last year, the U.S. denied Colombia certification as an anti-drugs ally
and
was widely expected to do so again. Washington accused Colombian
President
Ernesto Samper of accepting millions of dollars from drug traffickers to
finance his campaign in 1994. Other countries blacklisted in 1996 were
Afghanistan, BURMA, Colombia, Iran, Nigeria and Syria.

Mexico, the United States' third biggest trade partner, has always
passed
the test since it was instituted by law in 1986, despite U.S. concerns
about government corruption.

But the arrest last week of Mexico's anti-narcotics chief for allegedly
taking bribes from a drug kingpin alarmed Clinton and his top aides, and
led to appeals from members of Congress to punish Mexico by denying
certification.

Mexico, in an apparent attempt to prove it is indeed collaborating in
the
drug war, on Thursday announced the arrest of a top drug kingpin. The
Mexican navy burned 1.1 tonnes of confiscated cocaine and other drugs.

McCurry said these actions would be taken into account in the U.S.
decision. "It's always helpful when progress is made in the fight
against
drugs," he said.

In an indication the Clinton administration was laying the groundwork
for
recertifying Mexico, Attorney General Janet RENO and White House drug
czar
Gen. Barry McCaffrey both stood up for Zedillo on Thursday.

Reno said the Mexican president had done the right thing by acting
quickly
to fire his top anti-narcotics official, Gen. Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo,
last
week for allegedly taking bribes from a drug kingpin.

Mexico, while admitting it has a huge corruption problem, has bristled
at
the idea of being graded by Washington.

The peso plunged sharply on Thursday as Mexican Finance Minister
Guillermo
Ortiz Martinez warned that a potential U.S. decision to decertify Mexico
could damage the economy.

++++++++++
February 25 /Clinton Pressured to Get Tough with Mexico

WASHINGTON (Reuter) - Political pressure mounted Tuesday for President
Clinton to send Mexico a tough message by denying it Washington's
unqualified blessing for its efforts against drug trafficking.

The administration must announce by Saturday its verdicts on Mexico and
31
other countries in the process known as "certification." Mexico has
passed
that annual test since 1986, when Congress mandated that the White House
examine whether major drug producing or transit countries cooperate with
U.S. efforts.

But U.S. officials were caught by surprise last week when Mexico
dismissed
its top anti-narcotics official, Gen. Jesus Gutierrez, charging that he
had
ties to a drug kingpin.

"Until the arrest of the general, there was no question about Mexico's
certification," said a White House official who requested anonymity.
"Now
we're assessing its case."

"This is not a cooked deal ... this is not a political decision,"
Clinton's
anti-drug czar, retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, said Tuesday.

Mexico, the third largest U.S. trading partner, is also home to cartels
that smuggle cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and marijuana into U.S.
territory.

Decertified countries face U.S. economic sanctions. Afghanistan, Burma,
Colombia, Iran, Nigeria and Syria were blacklisted in 1996 and are
expected
to repeat that fate.

A third possibility is a "vital national interests" certification, a
waiver
of sanctions reserved for governments that fail to meet the standards
for
full recognition.

Under that cover, the United States can keep sending aid to a country
and
does not have to vote against its requests for loans from the World Bank
and other multilateral lenders. It also allows the U.S. government to
continue offering export credits and investment guarantees, without
which
U.S. sales to Mexico could drop and widen the bilateral trade gap in
Mexico's favor.

Clinton is to receive a formal recommendation on the issue from
Secretary
of State Madeleine Albright, who returned from a nine-nation tour
Tuesday.
The White House said Albright would see Clinton on Wednesday at the
White
House as part of a meeting with visiting Chilean President Eduardo Frei.
But it was not clear when she would forward her recommendation.

"We are committed to cooperating with our friends in Latin America ...
but
we want them to cooperate with us as well," Clinton said at a White
House
anti-drugs event. "We want to reduce our demand for drugs but we are
determined to reduce the supply as well."

As the deadline for a decision approached, several Clinton allies in
Congress urged him not to give Mexico an unqualified certification.

Joseph Biden of Delaware, ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign
Relations
Committee, Monday urged Clinton to grant only a "vital national
interests"
certification, and two Democratic senators from states with large
Hispanic
populations, California's Dianne Feinstein and New Jersey's Robert
Torricelli, said Tuesday he should be even tougher.

"I believe the evidence is overwhelming and can lead to no decision
other
than the decertification of Mexico," Feinstein said in a letter to
Clinton.
"It would send a strong signal to Mexico and the world that the United
States will not tolerate lack of cooperation in the fight against
narcotics, even from close friends and allies."

Torricelli wrote Clinton: "While I understand the sensitivity of the
issue
demands that this country proceed delicately, I would ask that you
consider
sending a tough message to the Mexican government and drug traffickers."

Senate sources told Reuters that if Clinton fully certifies Mexico,
influential senators including Feinstein and New York Republican Alfonse
D'Amato would lead a congressional drive to overturn the decision. Under
the law, Congress could pass a joint resolution to override the
president's
decision.

Albright acknowledged on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday that a waiver was
possible for Mexico but said she did not want to prejudge. She and other
U.S. officials praised Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo for removing
the
tainted general, viewed in Washington as a sign of Zedillo's commitment
to
fight corruption.

Assistant Secretary of State Robert Gelbard expressed strong U.S.
confidence in Zedillo Tuesday at a House hearing: "I feel we have strong
cooperation from President Zedillo. We believe he is trying to put
honest
people into government."

Full certification, however, could be questioned in the
Republican-controlled Congress, especially since top U.S. officials
lionized Gutierrez as an honest and no-nonsense commander weeks before
he
was accused of taking bribes.

Clinton, a champion of strong links with Mexico, plans to travel there
in April.

++++++++++++++++++

March 1 / Drug lord escaped as U.S. pondered certifying  Mexico

 MEXICO CITY (Reuter) -- Just hours after Washington decided to certify
Mexico as an ally in
                     the drug war, authorities admitted that a top drug
                     boss had escaped from custody while U.S. President
                     Bill Clinton was still deliberating.

                     Humberto Garcia Abrego, who is accused of
                     money-laundering and is the brother of jailed
                     Mexico Gulf cartel chief Juan Garcia Abrego,
                     walked out of installations of the National
                     Institute for Combating Drugs late on Thursday or
                     early on Friday, the Attorney General's Office
                     said in a statement.

                     A probe has been launched.

                     The escape was bound to embarrass Mexico and
                     provide further fuel for critics of drug
                     corruption.

                     But, in an apparent effort at damage limitation,
                     it was announced hours after U.S. Secretary of
                     State Madeleine Albright ended an agonizing week
                     for Mexico by saying that -- contrary to some
                     rumors -- Washington would grant Mexico
                     certification as part of its annual review of
                     antinarcotics efforts by other nations.

                     Garcia's escape appeared to have coincided almost
                     exactly with Mexico's announcement late on
                     Thursday that it had arrested Oscar Malherbe de
                     Leon, the acting leader of the Gulf drug cartel.

                     Malherbe's arrest -- announced more than 24 hours
                     after he was seized, and just as Washington was in
                     the final hours of deliberation on the
                     certification issue -- won praise from the U.S.
                     government and may have helped Clinton face down
                     opponents of certifying Mexico.

                     Malherbe took over the Gulf cartel following the
                     January 1996 arrest of its leader Juan Garcia
                     Abrego, Humberto's brother. Juan Garcia is now
                     serving 11 life sentences without parole in the
                     United States after being convicted of
                     drug-trafficking in a Houston court.

                     Humberto Garcia was initially legally released
                     from custody just before midnight on Tuesday (0600
                     GMT Wednesday) after winning a court order
                     protecting him from illegal arrest from a judge in
                     Tamaulipas.

                     Authorities immediately took him back into
                     custody, however, to answer a "presentation order"
                     requiring him to testify about other outstanding
                     laundering and criminal association charges.

                     "Inexplicably the official in charge of the
                     investigation told his superiors that Humberto
                     Garcia Abrego had 'gone from the National
                     Institute for Combating Drugs' before the
                     investigation was completed," the statement said.


++++++++++++++

Barry R. McCaffrey, Director /Office of National Drug Control Policy

Barry McCaffrey was confirmed by unanimous vote of the U.S. Senate as
the
Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
(ONDCP)
on 29 February 1996. He serves as the senior drug policy official in the
Executive Branch and as the President's chief drug policy spokesman. He
is
also a member of the National Security Council, and the Cabinet Council
on
Counternarcotics. Prior to confirmation as ONDCP Director, he was the
Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Southern Command based in Panama.

General McCaffrey began his distinguished military career as a
17-year-old
Cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York. He served
four
combat tours in the Dominican Republic, Vietnam (twice), and Iraq. 

When he retired from active duty, he was the most highly decorated
officer and the
youngest four star general in the U.S. Army. 

He twice received the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second
highest award for valor.

He also received two awards of the Silver Star for heroism, four awards
of
the Bronze Star, and three Purple Heart medals for wounds sustained in
combat. 

During Operation Desert Storm, he commanded the 24th Infantry
Division and led the 200 kilometer "left hook" attack that sliced into
the
Euphrates River Valley and trapped the Iraqi Republican Guards.

General McCaffrey graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover,
Massachusetts
and the U.S. Military Academy. He has a Master of Arts degree in Civil
Government and American University and taught American Government,
National
Security Studies, and Comparative Politics at West Point. 

He also attended the Harvard University National Security Program.

General McCaffrey served as the JCS assistant to General Colin Powell.

While serving as the Director for Strategic Plans and Policy on the
Joint
Chiefs of Staff, he was the principal JCS Staff military advisor to
three
secretaries of state and to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.
Among the numerous awards he has received for his distinguished service
to
the American people are: the Department of State's Superior Honor Award
for
support of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks; the NAACP Roy Wilkins
Renown Service Award; and decorations from the French, Brazilian, and
Argentine governments.

General McCaffrey is married to the former Jill Ann Faulkner. They have
three married children: Sean, a U.S. Army infantry Captain; Tara, a U.S.
Army Washington National Guard nurse; and Amy, a school teacher.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy/ Barry R. McCaffrey, Director

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) was established by
Act
of Congress in 1988 and is organized within the Executive Office of the
President. ONDCP is authorized to develop and coordinate the policies,
goals, and objectives of the Nation's drug control program for reducing
the
use of illicit drugs. ONDCP engages in activities that both meet the
requirements of its authorization and represent the values and
commitments
of the President and its Director.

To address the Nation's drug problem, ONDCP has developed drug control
priorities in four areas: (1) Treatment, (2) Prevention, (3) Domestic
Law
Enforcement, and (4) Interdiction and International.

For More Information

For further information on current drug control efforts, drug-related
data,
copies of ONDCP publications, or information concerning access to this
information, contact the ONDCP Drugs & Crime Clearinghouse, a component
of
the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, or send e-mail to:

     askncjrs@xxxxxxxxxxxx

     Executive Office of the President
     Office of National Drug Control Policy
     Drugs & Crime Clearinghouse
     P.O. Box 6000
     Rockville, MD 20849-6000
     Telephone: 1-800-666-3332

+++++++++++++++++++++++

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Dawn Star
Euro-Burmanet -Paris
http://www-uvi.eunet.fr/asia/euro-burma/drugs/