U.S. Hopeful on De la Madrid Talks

President Reagan hopes to “demonstrate confidence” in Mexico’s economic reforms and “give impetus to the anti-narcotics struggle in both countries” when he meets Wednesday with Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid, a senior Administration official said Monday.

De la Madrid will be accompanied by four members of his Cabinet, including Atty. Gen. Sergio Garcia Ramirez, when he arrives here this afternoon for two days of high-level talks about Mexico’s fragile economy and burgeoning drug trade.

The official said the size and caliber of the Mexican president’s entourage was unusual. “We take it as a good sign with respect to the seriousness of discussions about economic issues and narcotics issues,” he said.

‘A Rough Patch’

Acknowledging that U.S. relations with Mexico have been through “a rough patch” for the last year and a half, the official said that much of the strain stemmed from the Mexican government’s handling of an investigation into the kidnaping and murder of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent early last year.

The official, who spoke on the condition he not be identified, said Reagan will inquire about the progress of the probe into the death of special agent Enrique S. Camarena. But the tension over that issue, he added, is “pretty well smoothed over.”

“We have complete confidence in the integrity and in the dedication to this struggle of President De la Madrid and Atty. Gen. Garcia,” the official said. They “do not plan to allow narcotics traffickers to become settled in Mexico the way they are in some other countries,” he said. “They plan to combat it.”

Former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico John Gavin, who announced his resignation April 7, told a Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee this summer that drug corruption had permeated Mexican society to the point where “at least two” Mexican governors were “up to their elbows in the drug trade.”

No Replacement Named

The Administration has not named a replacement for the outspoken Gavin, and Mexican officials have complained that the absence of an ambassador for four months reflects typical U.S. insensitivity to Mexican concerns. The official who briefed reporters blamed normal wrangling within the Administration over appointments, combined with the need to check the background and finances of any nominee.

On the subject of Mexico’s foreign debt, De la Madrid will outline a series of reforms to enable Mexico to qualify for loans of $1.6 billion from the International Monetary Fund, $2 billion from the World Bank and $6 billion from private U.S. and international banks.

Among the reforms promised by De la Madrid are a reduction in the size of Mexico’s budget deficit and a lessening of the government’s hold on industries that might be more efficiently operated by private interests. The Administration official cited the recent closing of an unprofitable government steel mill employing 6,000 people as evidence that De la Madrid is “willing to take difficult political decisions to try to streamline the economy.”

Presidential Threats

Wednesday’s meeting will be Reagan’s fifth private session with De la Madrid since he began his six-year term as Mexico’s president in 1982. It comes in the midst of Reagan’s high-visibility campaign against drugs and renewed presidential threats to crack down on drug-supplying countries such as Mexico.

Although Mexico does not produce cocaine, substantial quantities of the drug are transshipped through Mexico to the United States from the producer countries in South America. The Administration official noted that dozens of Mexican law enforcement officials have been killed by narcotics traffickers in Mexico’s campaign to cut off the flow.

At the same time, he did not minimize the extent of corruption among law enforcement and government officials. “It’s a multibillion-dollar industry,” he said, “and the narcotics traffickers have the wherewithal to corrupt police officers and officials in every single country in which they exist.”