cannabisnews.com: Albright Signals Mexico Will Clear Drug Hurdle





Albright Signals Mexico Will Clear Drug Hurdle
Posted by FoM on January 17, 2000 at 15:22:58 PT
By Jonathan Peterson, Staff Writer
Source: Los Angeles Times 
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright hinted Sunday that Mexico will soon get official U.S. certification for its anti-drug efforts, meeting an annual requirement that continues to be a divisive issue between the two neighbors."It is inappropriate to make predictions," Albright said when asked about the matter at a joint news conference here with Mexican Foreign Minister Rosario Green.
Albright spent the last day of a three-day Latin American visit in this picturesque southern Mexican city, where she endeavored to reinforce the improved U.S.-Mexican ties that have emerged during the concurrent presidencies of Bill Clinton and Ernesto Zedillo. Under U.S. law, the White House must certify each year that Mexico--as well as other countries--is making serious efforts to attack the problem of illegal drug trafficking. President Clinton is expected to make his next formal decision on the delicate matter around late February. A denial of certification would greatly embarrass the political leadership of Mexico, where there is widespread evidence of police corruption and chronic difficulties in combating drug criminals. Penalties for failing to receive certification would include a cutoff in U.S. aid, other than counter-narcotics assistance, and U.S. opposition to Mexican aid at international financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Albright will make a recommendation to Clinton before he makes the decision. "It obviously has its own timetable," Albright said of certification. "I think it is very evident that the [Mexican] cooperation on narco-traffickers is on a very good level." Green, Albright's Mexican counterpart, agreed that the two nations are cooperating to combat illegal drugs and said, "We seek to eliminate this cancer at the beginning of this century." The reality that national administrations in Washington and Mexico City have entered lame-duck stages was much on the minds of Albright and Green, who have held 10 individual meetings in recent years to discuss matters ranging from drugs to immigration to the North American Free Trade Agreement.Clearly, the U.S. and Mexico remain divided by difficult issues, including Washington's refusal to allow Mexican truckers north of the border, a ban that Mexican officials say violates NAFTA's terms. Still, the two nations' top diplomats each expressed wishes Sunday that strong ties between the traditionally wary neighbors will be maintained in the future.Albright said she was struck by the spectacle of the ancient ruins of Monte Alban, which she had visited early Sunday. The leaders of the United States and Mexico are leaving their own legacy for the future, she maintained, expressing hope that one day people will look back on the Clinton and Zedillo administrations as "a turning point in U.S.-Mexican relations." "We've gone a long way in making this work--and we want to make sure that it lasts," Albright said.Pubdate: Mon, 17 Jan 2000Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)Copyright: 2000 Los Angeles TimesNews Article Courtesy Of MapInc.http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v00/n067/a06.html 
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on January 17, 2000 at 15:47:52 PT
A very fitting alliteration... cancer
I couldn't have put it better - but for other reasons.Cancer. Bilions have been spent in the search for cancer cures. There might actually have been some benefit from the research. The problem, however, has been the growth of what is essentially a 'cancer industry' which revolves around the supposed 'treatment' of the disease, but not always to the betterment of the patient. That industry has sought to use every method, short of actual murder, to quell any dissent about it's practices - and failures. It has ruined lives of doctors who challenge it's suzerainity. It has undemocratically acquired a degree of control over the health choices of the average American that would have had our Founding Fathers grabbing muskets, fixing bayonets, and charging the b*****ds.In short, the cancer racket has taken a page from the DrugWarriors handbook. Can you imagine paying $3K each time you get an IV of Taxol ( a very toxic chemo agent)? That's what, in effect, happens. But the cancer racket has gotten fat and sassy off of it's monopoly, and will do everything in it's power to stay on top. Just like the DrugWarriors do.
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