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105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 9

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding cooperation between the United

States and Mexico on counter-drug activities.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 13, 1997

Mrs. HUTCHISON (for herself, Mr. DOMENICI, Mr. DODD, Mr. MCCAIN, Mr.

BIDEN, and Mr. LUGAR) submitted the following concurrent resolution;

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding cooperation between the United States and Mexico on counter-drug

activities.

Whereas the international drug trade poses a direct threat to

the United States and to international efforts to promote

democracy, economic stability, human rights, and the rule

of law;

Whereas approximately 12,800,000 Americans use illegal

drugs, including 1,500,000 cocaine users, 600,000 heroin

addicts, and 9,800,000 smokers of marijuana;

Whereas illegal drug use occurs among members of every ethnic and socioeconomic group in the United States;
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•SCON 9 IS

Whereas 10.9 percent of all children between 12 years and

17 years of age use illegal drugs, and one child in four

claims to have been offered illegal drugs in the last year;

Whereas drug-related illness, death, and crime cost the United States approximately $66,900,000,000 in 1996, including costs for lost productivity, premature death, and

incarceration;

Whereas effective treatment and prevention is required to

break the cycle that links illegal drugs to violent crime

in the United States and to reduce the social and economic costs to the United States of illegal drug use;

Whereas such treatment and prevention depend on our ability

to prevent the flow of illegal drugs through our borders

through effective cooperation with other nations;

Whereas according to the Department of State, Mexico is the

source of between 20 and 30 percent of the heroin and

70 percent of the marijuana shipped into the United

States and is a transit point for between 50 and 70 percent of the cocaine shipped into the United States;

Whereas drug traffickers along the United States border with

Mexico smuggle approximately $10,000,000,000 worth of

narcotics into the United States annually, and the drug

trade generates approximately $30,000,000,000 annually

for the Mexican economy;

Whereas there has been a failure to take effective action

against drug cartels and other significant narcotics traffickers in Mexico, including the Juarez and Tijuana drug

cartels;

Whereas Mexico has failed to honor requests by the United

States for extradition of Mexican nationals indicted in

our courts on drug-related charges;
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Whereas the number of drug seizures in Mexico in 1996 was

only half the number of seizures in 1993, and the number of drug-related arrests in Mexico in 1996 was only

half the number of such arrests in 1992;

Whereas there is evidence of official corruption in the

counter-drug forces of Mexico, including the recent arrest

of General Jesus Gutierrez Rebollo, the highest-ranking

counter-drug official of the Government of Mexico;

Whereas the Government of Mexico has refused to permit

United States agents to carry their weapons on the Mexican side of the United States border with Mexico;

Whereas the banking and financial sectors in Mexico lack

mechanisms to prevent money laundering; and

Whereas the Department of the Treasury estimates the

amount of drug-related money-laundering in Mexico in

1996 at nearly $10,000,000,000: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives

2 concurring), That it is the sense of Congress—

3 (1) to express concern about ineffective and in4 sufficient progress by Mexico in halting the produc5 tion in and transit through Mexico of illegal drugs;

6 and

7 (2) to urge the President of the United States

8 and the President of Mexico to expand and strength9 en their cooperative relationship in order to make

10 additional progress in halting the production in and

11 transit through Mexico of illegal drugs, including

12 meaningful progress in—
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1 (A) the dismantlement of major drug car2 tels in Mexico and the arrest of their leaders;

3 (B) the implementation by Mexico of effec4 tive money-laundering legislation;

5 (C) the compliance of Mexico with out6 standing extradition requests by the United

7 States, particularly those requested for extra8 dition of Mexican nationals indicted in our

9 courts on drug-related charges;

10 (D) the interdiction of the flow of narcotics

11 and other controlled substances across the land

12 and sea border between the United States and

13 Mexico;

14 (E) the cooperation of Mexico with United

15 States law enforcement officials engaged in

16 counter-drug activities, including permission for

17 United States agents to carry weapons on the

18 Mexico side of the United States border; and

19 (F) the implementation by Mexico of a

20 wide-ranging program to identify, eliminate,

21 and prosecute officials in Mexico, including gov22 ernment, police, and military officials, who are

23 engaged in or corrupted by drug-related activi24 ties.

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