Cross-Border Trust Grows

Drug trafficking has been a contentious issue between Mexico and the United States for decades. Washington complains that corruption south of the border makes controlling illegal drugs difficult. Mexicans reply that they wouldn’t have the problem were it not for their northern neighbor’s insatiable appetite for illegal substances. But since the advent of a fairly elected administration in Mexico last year, the old disagreements have shifted toward a spirit of cooperation.

The resulting victories against organized crime on both sides of the border include the recent arrest of a powerful Mexican former state governor believed to be associated with drug lords. U.S. officials looking for him shared information on his whereabouts with their Mexican counterparts, who kept it a secret until they made the arrest. Such an exchange would have been unthinkable a few years ago: The information surely would have been leaked to the suspect. The extradition of Mexican criminals wanted in the United States is now a reality.

Trust is based on deeds, like the rigorous vetting procedure that all Mexican law enforcement officials now have to undergo. It includes a lie detector test and an investigation of financial assets. The U.S. has responded to these positive actions with more funding to help train Mexican drug agents.

Similar cooperation will be needed as the two nations crack down on other international crime problems, like money laundering, gun and people smuggling, cyber-crime and customs fraud.

The power of drug cartels cannot be underestimated, so it is likely that individual corruption scandals will continue to emerge in Mexico. Yet, a top U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration official says he is “cautiously optimistic . . . that the Fox administration is dealing with [endemic] corruption.” That is something people of goodwill on both sides of the border should find encouraging.