 |
|
|
 News from Around the Americas | May 2006 
Mexican Officials Say Drug Bill Misinterpreted by U.S.
 Danna Harman - USA TODAY
| | Marijuana burns after being seized by Mexican army troops in the mountains surrounding Chilpancingo, the capital of the Mexican state of Guerrero. Police and business owners from Mexico's beaches to border cities worried that a measure passed to decriminalize possession of cocaine, heroin and other drugs could attract droves of tourists solely looking to get high. (Photo/John Moore) |
Mexican President Vicente Fox said he wants lawmakers to clarify language in a controversial bill that would drop criminal penalties for small amounts of drugs, but his office this week denied that he did so under U.S. pressure.
Fox sent the bill back to Mexico's Congress for revisions Wednesday.
The United States had objected to the legislation in talks with Fox's government. On Thursday, U.S. officials welcomed the move by the Mexican leader but said the idea to ask for changes was his. "This was Fox's own decision, 100%. He showed strong leadership," said Tom Riley, a spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. "Mexico is a good partner in the war against drugs."
BILL SENT BACK: Fox's reasons
Fox had previously backed the bill, which was intended to allow Mexican police to concentrate anti-narcotics efforts on dealers and drug lords and to prevent small-time drug users from clogging prisons. As recently as Tuesday, Fox spokesman Ruben Aguilar said the legislation was "an advance in combating narcotics trafficking" and would be signed by Fox today.
The bill would have turned the possession of small quantities of drugs — up to 5 grams of marijuana, a gram of cocaine and limited amounts of heroin, Ecstasy, LSD, hallucinogenic mushrooms and other drugs — into crimes that don't require jail time. Offenders still would have faced other penalties, such as fines.
Eduardo Medina Mora, Mexico's top-ranking law enforcement officer as secretary of public security, said the law had been misinterpreted. It was intended to aid the drug war by diverting resources toward catching narcotics traffickers and punishing them more severely, he said.
U.S. officials met Wednesday with Mexico's ambassador to Washington and expressed concern that the law would encourage drug use by Mexicans and foreign tourists. "They urged (Mexico) to clarify the law so it would not make it attractive to those who would go to Mexico to use drugs," said Judith Bryan, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City.
The bill made it through Mexico's Congress with little fanfare but quickly evoked outrage in the USA.
Critics said the legislation could bring about "drug tourism."
On Tuesday, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders described the legislation as "appallingly stupid" in a meeting with a Mexican diplomat, according to the Associated Press. Sanders warned that it would turn border cities such as Tijuana into versions of Amsterdam, where a youth drug culture has flourished around marijuana and hashish coffee shops.
Ron Brooks, president of the National Narcotic Officers' Associations' Coalition, said the bill "makes drugs more available to any vacationer to Mexico. Your kid goes down to party for a few days over spring break and comes back strung out."
Jorge Chabat, who studies the illegal drug trade as a researcher at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching in Mexico City, said it's clear that U.S. opposition influenced Fox. "Of course Fox was pressured. He probably thought to himself, 'In the midst of everything going on with immigration reform, I don't need a fight now with the U.S.,' " Chabat said.
It's unclear when Mexican lawmakers will review the bill and make any revisions.
Fox is set to leave office in September. Mexico holds presidential elections July 2. He is barred by the constitution from seeking another term.
In his statement, Fox said he wanted Congress to revise the bill "to make it absolutely clear that, in our country, the possession of drugs and their consumption are, and will continue to be, a criminal offense."
The bill, as written, would have given local and state police authority to make drug arrests, now a job for federal police. It also would have given Mexican states the right to jail offenders for up to 48 hours and to immediately deport foreigners possessing drugs. Penalties for some offenses would have been increased.
In the past decade, Mexico has become the major transit and staging point for drug smuggling into the USA. Last year, more than 1,500 people were killed in drug-related violence in Mexico as cartels battled for control of smuggling routes, Chabat said.
Harman is Latin America bureau chief for USA TODAY and The Christian Science Monitor |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us