Senate Votes to Penalize Mexico for Drug Policy

The Senate, faulting President Reagan for being too lenient on drug-trafficking countries in Latin America, voted overwhelmingly Thursday to penalize Mexico for failing to cooperate with efforts to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.

The 63-27 vote was a largely symbolic rebuke of the Mexican government and the Reagan Administration since the President already has said he will reject the sanctions because they are contrary to U.S. national security interests. Nevertheless, the Senate action is expected to cause a chill in U.S.-Mexican relations, and the House is expected to approve a similar measure in the near future.

50% Aid Cut Required

Under the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which was enacted by Congress before the last congressional election, the government must slash by 50% the non-humanitarian foreign aid to any country that has not been “fully cooperative” with efforts to halt the flow of drugs into the United States. U.S. members of international development banks also would be required to vote against future loans for those countries.

Led by Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.), the move against Mexico reflected a judgment by many members of Congress--particularly those, like Wilson, who are seeking reelection in November--that Reagan’s high-profile publicity campaign against drugs has failed to adequately combat the problem. Polls show American voters are demanding stronger anti-drug measures, and Congress is preparing to pass a wide range of narcotics-related bills before the year is out.

The Senate also moved in response to disclosures that the Administration failed until recently to take action against Panamanian strongman Manuel A. Noriega, despite overwhelming evidence that he was profiting from the Latin American drug trade.

Supporters of the measure predicted that it would put Mexico and other Latin American countries on notice that Congress no longer will tolerate their less-than-perfect cooperation with a U.S. program to eradicate crops of coca and marijuana, arrest known drug traffickers and halt the laundering of money derived from narcotics sales in the United States.

“This may be just the signal that Mexico needs to wake up before it is too late,” said Sen. Alphonse M. D’Amato (R-N.Y.). “It’s about time we give meaning to the rhetoric as it relates to the war on drugs.”

But opponents described it as nothing more than an exercise in “Mexico bashing” that would disturb diplomatic relations between the neighboring nations and undermine U.S. efforts to persuade Mexican officials to continue cooperating with anti-drug efforts.

“These are sensitive people, they are proud people, and they will tell you what to do with it,” Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Tex.) warned. “If you get no credit, why cooperate?”

Earlier, the Senate defeated on a vote of 54 to 40 a resolution that would have overturned Reagan’s finding that the Bahamas are not fully cooperating in the war on drugs. It also approved by voice vote a resolution ordering Haiti to be placed on a list of nations that should be scrutinized as possible drug producers or transit points.

The sanctions were supported by senators across the political spectrum, ranging from North Carolina Republican Jesse Helms on the right to Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry on the left. Most of those senators seeking reelection in November were early supporters.

The overwhelming vote came as a surprise to many backers of the sanctions, who had expected many senators to succumb to a strong last-minute lobbying drive by the White House. It appeared that some senators decided to vote for the sanctions after it became clear the measure was going to pass anyway.

The Senate-passed resolution concludes that Reagan erred in a report to Congress last month when he stated that the Mexican government had “fully cooperated” with U.S. efforts to combat Latin American drug trafficking.

Technically, Mexico would be subject to the full range of sanctions under the law if the Senate’s action were allowed to take effect. But Mexico receives no foreign assistance from the United States that would be affected.

In fact, some senators conceded that they were voting for the sanctions because they knew that Mexico would never actually suffer a penalty. Kerry said it was a situation in which senators could “have it both ways”--going on record as moving to penalize Mexico without being accused of causing any serious harm.

Despite predictions that Mexico would be less inclined to cooperate with U.S. anti-drug efforts as a result of the Senate action, Leonardo Ffrench, public affairs minister for the Mexican Embassy in Washington, said his government will continue to fight drug trafficking.

“Mexico is firmly committed to keep on doing its best to fight drugs because of Mexico’s national interest and because of international solidarity with the rest of the world,” Ffrench said.

Times staff writer James Gerstenzang contributed to this story.