DATE=1/11/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=MEXICO DRUGS (L)
NUMBER=2-257972
BYLINE=GREG FLAKUS
DATELINE=MEXICO CITY
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: In spite of law enforcement efforts in both
the United States and Mexico, the major drug
trafficking organizations operating in Mexican
territory continue to prosper. As V-O-A's Greg Flakus
reports from Mexico City, one expert on the problem
sees little hope of any immediate change for the
better in the fight against drugs.
TEXT: One of the Mexican journalists who has followed
the story of drug smuggling most closely is Jorge
Fernandez Menendez, author of the book, "Narcotrafico
y Poder" or "Narcotics trafficking and Power." As the
title of his book implies, he believes the drug-
smuggling gangsters have grown powerful because of the
enormous amounts of money they obtain.
/// FERNANDEZ ACT IN SPANISH FADE UNDER
///
Speaking to V-O-A at his Mexico City office, he says
that this week's celebrated merger of America Online
and Time Warner provides a benchmark to understand the
power of drug smuggling. The corporate merger
involves about 100-billion dollars - about the same
amount Mr. Fernandez says is produced by drug
smuggling each year.
This enormous flow of cash gives the drug cartels the
power to corrupt officials on both sides of the
border. Mr. Fernandez rejects the notion put forth by
some former U-S law enforcement agency chiefs that
corruption in Mexico is the sole problem. He notes
that the Arellano-Felix brothers, who run the Tijuana
cartel, have been able to walk about freely in San
Diego (California) as well as Tijuana. He says there
is even more surprising information about the Valencia
family, a smuggling group operating out of the central
state of Michoacan.
/// FERNANDEZ ACT in SPANISH FADE UNDER
///
He says every member of the family obtained U-S
citizenship. They all have U-S passports that are
legal, not falsified. Mr. Fernandez says it was
recently discovered that one member of the Valencia
family had rented a house from the Mexican federal
Attorney General's office, which had confiscated it
from another drug trafficker.
Jorge Fernandez Menendez rejects the idea that the
fight against drugs is hopeless. He says there may be
little reason to expect great success, but that the
governments of both Mexico and the United States must
continue to work separately and together against the
illicit trade. He also rejects the notion that the
recent use of agents from the U-S Federal Bureau of
Investigation in the investigation of clandestine
graves near Ciudad Juarez represented a violation of
Mexican sovereignty. He says such cooperation is
essential in the fight against drug smugglers.
(Signed)
NEB/GF/TVM/JP
11-Jan-2000 17:45 PM EDT (11-Jan-2000 2245 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
