DATE=1/14/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT (L)
TITLE=ALBRIGHT/LATAM TRIP
NUMBER=2-258074
BYLINE=GREG FLAKUS
DATELINE=MEXICO CITY
CONTENT=
VOICED AT=
INTRO: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright leaves
today/ has left (departs Washington 1 PM) for
Colombia, the first stop in a three-nation trip to
Latin America. She will also visit Panama and Mexico
before returning to Washington on Sunday. VOA's
Mexico City correspondent Greg Flakus has this report
on the topics to be addressed during the trip.
TEXT: The major issues likely to dominate Secretary
of State Albright's discussions are the ones that have
tended to be at the top of the agenda every time a U-S
official visits the region -- drugs, immigration,
trade and aid.
The fight against drug smuggling is an important topic
in U-S relations with both Colombia and Mexico.
Colombia is the source for about 80 percent of the
world's cocaine and home to the top smuggling cartels.
Mexico is the major transit nation for cocaine and
also a producer of heroin, marijuana and the key
ingredients for methamphetamine.
President Clinton has asked Congress for one-point-six
billion dollars in aid for Colombia, with most of the
money destined for special Colombian military units
that target the drug smugglers. But Colombia is also
enmeshed in a long-running guerrilla war and some U-S
congressional critics worry that the aid might draw
the United States into the conflict. Some Colombian
guerrillas are, in fact, involved with drug producers
and smugglers, so the distinction between funds for
the anti-drug effort and overall military aid could
easily be blurred.
In her meetings with Mexican Foreign Minister Rosario
Green on Sunday, in the southern state of Oaxaca,
Secretary of State Albright will focus on the agenda
for the 17th meeting of the U-S/Mexico binational
commission in May. Spokespersons for both countries
say that while drugs and immigration are issues that
are likely to be part of the discussions, there are
many other areas of mutual interest. Total trade
between Mexico and the United States is over 160
billion dollars. There are also important cultural
ties between the two countries largely resulting from
the growth of the Mexican ethnic population in the
United States.
During her brief stop in Panama on Saturday, Secretary
of State Albright will need to address the irritation
caused by her failure to attend the formal ceremony
marking the transfer of control of the Panama Canal
from the United States to Panama on December 14. The
Panamanians had wanted President Clinton or Vice
President Al Gore to attend. They were further
disappointed when the Secretary of State cancelled her
attendance at the last minute in order to prepare for
Middle East peace talks. The special relationship
between the United States and Panama came to an end
last year with the transfer of the canal and the
closure of all U-S military bases. Under the 1977
Canal treaties, however, the United States retains the
right to intervene if there is a threat to the canal.
(Signed)
NEB/GF/ENE/KL
14-Jan-2000 11:03 AM EDT (14-Jan-2000 1603 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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