[EXCERPT] PENTAGON SPOKESMAN'S REGULAR BRIEFING MARCH 26

DoD News Briefing
Thursday, March 26, 1998 -- 1:45 p.m. (EST)
Kenneth H. Bacon, ASD (PA)


.......

Q: The Secretary said he didn't have a comment on the issue of whether
the Mexican military was involved in drugs. In the intervening hours
is there any response from the Pentagon that you might have to that
story?


A: Well, first of all, I'm not going to comment on a specific
intelligence report. But I can talk a little bit about the Mexican
situation.


Approximately 60-70 percent of the cocaine that comes into this
country comes in through Mexico. The Mexican government and the U.S.
government has made control of narcotics trafficking a high priority
item. We have been working with the Mexican government, specifically
we've been working with the Mexican military since 1995 when Secretary
Perry went to Mexico, to begin discussions with them about heightened
cooperation between the U.S. and the Mexican military.


We, last year, trained about 830 Mexican military officials in
counternarcotics and other operations. This year we'll train a
thousand or more. We do this, at the request of Mexico, in areas that
make sense to them. Mexico's a sovereign country. They have designed
their own program, and come to us and asked us for help when we can
provide it. We try to be as responsive as possible.


We've also provided them with some helicopters and some fixed wing
aircraft and other equipment to aid their counternarcotics operation.


The Mexican government has expressed extreme concern about corruption,
by narcotics dealers and other narcotics forces, of their police force
and other institutions in Mexico. The Attorney General has been very
outspoken about that, and other Mexican officials have as well.


The military on its own has been investigating corruption within the
military, and where they have found examples of corruption they have
taken action and made it clear that they want to root out
narco-trafficking corruption in the Mexican military.


These are the facts. They, as you know, arrested a senior general
because of his dealings with narco-trafficking forces in Mexico.


So the Mexican military is carrying out, I believe, the antidrug
function in a responsible manner. At the same time, they are very
aware of the opportunities that any drug-related operation offers for
corruption and they're trying to attack that when they can.


Q: The Attorney General this morning could not comment on the
allegations or the intelligence reports that are reported in that...


A: I did not comment either. I made a general comment about the
Mexican military.


Q: A spokesman for the State Department denies that the source was
credible. I believe he described the source as being Gen. Gutierrez
Rebollo, and said this man was not credible. But is that what the DoD
also ascribes to, that...


A: I didn't say that. What I said was I'm not going to comment on the
specific intelligence report. I did comment more generally on the role
that the Mexican military is playing in policing counternarcotics
operations in Mexico and on what Mexicans themselves have said about
the risk of corruption from dealing in countering narco-trafficking.


Q: Specifically it says that Mexican generals, higher officers, have
been meeting with drug traffickers regularly. Mexican drug
traffickers. Is that thought to be true or...


A: I've told you that I'm not going to comment on the specific report
about an intelligence matter.

...............

(end transcript)