Terms Set For Anti-Drug Aid From U.S., Mexico Says

MEXICO CITY, Oct. 4 -- Mexico's top diplomat for North America announced Thursday that the United States and Mexico have come to terms on a proposed $1 billion, two-year aid package to help Mexico fight drug trafficking.

The remarks by Carlos Rico, Mexico's undersecretary for North American affairs, were the first public disclosure by a top official in either country about the size of an aid deal that has been quietly negotiated for months. Rico, who surprised many here by making his announcement at an academic conference, said the two countries would make a joint declaration in the coming days.

John P. Walters, the White House drug policy chief, also has said an announcement is forthcoming, but the Bush administration has not publicly released details.

The package, Rico said, will be called the Joint Strategy to Combat Organized Crime and cannot go into effect unless approved by the U.S. Congress. Its size rivals that of Plan Colombia, an ongoing program launched in 2000 to eradicate coca production and suppress Marxist rebels in the Andean nation. The Colombia aid package involves about $600 million to $700 million a year.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are preparing for President Bush to request the aid money and are considering rushing through a supplemental spending bill as Congress nears the end of its budgeting process, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.) said in a telephone interview. Some members of the House leadership want economic assistance -- such as job training and business development -- added to the package, Cuellar said.

"We are going to have some hurdles in Congress," said Cuellar, who supports adding money for economic stimulus in Mexico. "But at the end of the day, this will get done."

Congressional aides briefed on the package say it includes money for training and equipment, such as helicopters, boats and vehicles. But it does not include a U.S. military presence, a key component of Plan Colombia.

"They talk about Plan Colombia," Rico said Thursday. "Here, we have the operational capacity to do it ourselves."

Rico took exception to a remark this week by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, who was widely quoted as referring to the aid package as "Plan Mexico," a label that Mexican officials dislike because of its association with Plan Colombia. "This is not a 'Plan Mexico,' " Rico said.

Mexico remains sensitive about any perception that it is ceding its sovereignty to the United States. In private, top officials wince when the term "aid package" is used, preferring instead to call it a "cooperative agreement."

"We don't want to only talk about transferring money," Rico said Thursday, according to a recording of his remarks. "Also, we want to talk about cooperation, that each does things in their own country . . . this was the most complex part" of the negotiations.

After Rico's announcement, Mexico's Foreign Ministry released a 14-point statement that does not use the words "aid" or "assistance," and states that U.S. troops and agents will not be allowed to conduct operations on Mexican soil.

The program is "founded on principles of equality, reciprocity, mutual confidence and respect for the sovereignty of each country," the statement reads. It also emphasizes the role that U.S. drug users play in creating a lucrative market.

"The activities of criminal organizations that operate in Mexico, in particular those dedicated to drug trafficking, are closely related to the demand for drugs that exists in the United States," the statement said.