Pubdate: Thu, 02 Mar 2006 Source: Dallas Morning News (TX) Copyright: 2006 The Dallas Morning News Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117 Author: Lennox Samuels, The Dallas Morning News FOX: ASSASSINATION THREAT MUST NOT HINDER DRUG WAR Despite Rising Violence, Mexican President Urges More Extraditions MEXICO CITY - President Vicente Fox rejected suggestions that his government has lost control in the fight against organized crime and said he supports extraditing more drug traffickers to the U.S., though he conceded that could lead to more assassination attempts against judges and politicians. The rise in drug cartel activities and violence in Mexico reflect his government's success in apprehending drug kingpins, Mr. Fox said in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. He added that his administration would never make any kind of "deal" with organized crime. "We will use all the power of the state until the very last minute of this government, because this is a battle we have to win," a relaxed but tough-talking Mr. Fox said in the interview Tuesday night. "I don't deny there is a war going on - and it's a war we will win," he said. Mr. Fox said that his administration has jailed dozens of leaders of drug cartels and that those detentions created a vacuum that has resulted in "second-tier" cartel operatives fighting for the "empty spaces." "Literally, they are killing each other for that space," he said in the interview at Los Pinos, the presidential residence. He said the extradition of drug traffickers to the U.S. must continue and be expanded, despite the likely escalation of violence. "I don't see any other way except to keep frontal, powerful actions and activities [against] organized crime," he said. The president said that many of the traffickers now jockeying for power in the cartels are of a younger generation. That's why extradition is so important, he said: "They know that they can be exported to the United States." Attorney General Daniel Cabeza de Vaca said Wednesday that extradition is only one part of Mexico's strategy to fight drugs. "We are committed to seeing that they [criminals] face justice here in Mexico as well as the United States," he said in an interview with The News. "We will cooperate with the American government in regard to those [suspects] who have cases pending before American justice and can be tried there. That's a priority of this government." Cartel Battle Authorities have seen a rise in the level of violence in the bloody battle for supremacy between the rival Gulf and Sinaloa cartels, with lethal confrontations migrating from the border to such cities as Acapulco and Monterrey. Mr. Fox expressed concern about rising drug use inside Mexico, which has been known mostly for trafficking drugs to the north rather than consuming them. He said traffickers are now after the Mexican middle class, particularly among returning countrymen and young people in tourist spots. "Consumption finally became a problem for us," he said, describing places such as Nuevo Laredo, across the border from Laredo, as "strategic distribution points." "In Nuevo Laredo, we will bring that city to order," the president pledged. In a session that touched on several topics, Mr. Fox acknowledged the difficulty he has had enacting his programs over the last five years because of opposition in the Mexican congress. "I thought the respect and support of the people would get me through Congress ... but our democracy is still in transformation," he said. "Not having re-election to Congress, not having a commitment by congressmen to their constituents, is part of this." Gridlocked Legislators The 500-member Chamber of Deputies is made up of 222 members from the former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI; 97 from the Party of the Democratic Revolution, or PRD; 148 from Mr. Fox's National Action Party, or PAN; 17 from the Green Party, and the remainder from small parties. Deputies are elected to one three-year term and may not serve consecutive terms. Analysts have described the result as mostly gridlock. As an example, Mr. Fox said that for two years he has had a bill before Congress that would give him greater powers to combat drug trafficking. He noted that drug consumption in Mexico is not a criminal offense and that "if we catch one guy with one gram of cocaine or marijuana, we can't do anything." Mr. Fox said he would "make the Mexican congress responsible for every death from organized crime." In the interview, the president called migration "a 100-year issue and an everyday discussion with the United States." Noting the failure of the two countries to reach a migration accord, he said each side needs to appoint someone specifically responsible for dealing with the issue. He criticized as an unworthy idea a proposal by some U.S. lawmakers to build a wall along the Rio Grande. "Building walls is not to the stature of a democracy like the United States," Mr. Fox said. On his watch, education has improved and the population growth rate has declined, the president said, meaning that Mexico's population is aging. "Ten years from now, they will be begging Mexicans to come to work in the U.S. economy, but we won't let them go because we will need them here," he said. The president also touted his success at managing what he called the largest Mexican budget in history, bringing in private investment and instituting democracy. - --- MAP posted-by: SHeath(DPF Florida)