U.S., Mexico Ease Tensions on Court Ruling

American and Mexican officials scrambled Tuesday to ease tensions between the two countries over a U.S. Supreme Court decision that would allow U.S. agents to kidnap suspects abroad.

U.S. Ambassador John D. Negroponte and Mexican Deputy Foreign Minister Andres Rozental began talks to define the activities of American drug agents in Mexico and revise the bilateral extradition treaty to prevent kidnapings such as the 1989 abduction of Guadalajara physician Humberto Alvarez Machain, which led to the court ruling.

Although the Mexican government had announced a suspension of U.S. anti-narcotics operations in Mexico in retaliation for the decision, U.S. officials reported “business as usual” in the war on drugs Tuesday.

However, a senior Mexican official said his government’s drug agents had been instructed to conduct no operations with their American counterparts until the issue is resolved.

As Negroponte began his talks with Mexican officials, the State Department acknowledged that the Mexican Foreign Secretariat has issued a press release announcing “certain measures.” But it said the two governments are “entering into discussions to ensure that our excellent cooperation on counter-narcotics matters continues.”

U.S. officials remained deeply concerned about the potential for a blowup.

“When problems arise between two countries you have to look for solutions,” Negroponte said when he left the meeting with Rozental. “That’s what we’re trying to do as a consequence of the Supreme Court decision.”

In a reflection of the American unease, both the White House and State Department all but assured Mexico that the Alvarez Machain case would not be used as a model for further U.S. anti-drug efforts. Senior Administration officials said it was also likely that the United States would have to bow to Mexican demands for an amendment to the extradition treaty that would specifically bar such kidnapings.

At the same time, the Mexican government, perhaps motivated by its pursuit of a North American free-trade agreement with the United States and Canada, seemed to modify its initial harsh reaction and sought to appease U.S. fears that it would become an uncooperative partner in the battle to interdict drugs.

“We are interested in resolving this as soon as possible,” said a senior Mexican government official. “Both governments want to make sure this doesn’t interfere with the fight against drug trafficking. We see no reason to give traffickers a respite.”

The diplomatic flurry came as officials from both countries sorted through the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Monday that a criminal suspect kidnaped by the United States from a foreign country over that country’s objection may be put on trial in the United States, unless such a move is specifically barred by an extradition treaty.

The decision reinstated a federal case against Alvarez Machain, who is accused of taking part in the 1985 murder of Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique S. Camarena in Guadalajara. Alvarez Machain is accused of administering drugs to keep Camarena alive during his torture by narcotics traffickers.

The doctor’s abduction from his Guadalajara office was arranged by DEA agents and carried out by Mexicans. He was forcibly taken across the border to the United States and handed over to waiting DEA agents.

After the court’s 6-to-3 decision, the Mexican government announced it would ban DEA activities in Mexico and seek a revision of the extradition treaty. Mexican officials said they would present the United States with proposed language for new rules in a meeting scheduled for today.

The United States has long opposed Mexican efforts to alter that treaty. But Administration officials adopted an extraordinarily conciliatory posture Tuesday as they tried to make amends for what they said privately had been an inappropriately boastful Justice Department reaction to the controversial ruling.

The Administration’s top anti-drug official issued a statement saying it was “imperative” that the two countries “resolve concerns” arising from the case. The official, Bob Martinez, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, declared bluntly that the U.S. government “does not believe that the drug war will be won by seizing suspected criminals.”

And in another bid at reconciliation, the State Department reaffirmed what it said was an understanding between the United States and Mexico reached in the aftermath of the Alvarez Machain kidnaping that “all cooperative efforts in the counter-narcotics area ‘must be conducted with full respect for the sovereign rights and prerogatives of each other’s nations.’ ”

“We are confident that we will be able to fully address Mexico’s sensitivities about future law enforcement cooperation between our two countries,” the State Department statement said. “We have the utmost respect for Mexican sovereignty. We intend to work carefully with the government of Mexico to allay any concerns or perceptions to the contrary.”

The Bush Administration was seeking to overcome what officials feared was considerable damage caused by a statement issued Monday afternoon by Atty. Gen. William P. Barr that stood for several hours as the official U.S. response to the decision.

In that statement, the Justice Department, which oversees DEA, said it was “gratified” by the ruling and described it as a “vindication.”

Senior White House officials were said to be infuriated by what one highly placed source called an “inflammatory statement.” White House Chief of Staff Samuel K. Skinner met with Barr on Tuesday to discuss the statement.

“Barr just blew by them all and issued his own statement,” one senior Administration official said.

Miller reported from Mexico City and Jehl from Washington.