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DATE=1/11/2000 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=MEXICO DRUGS (L) NUMBER=2-257972 BYLINE=GREG FLAKUS DATELINE=MEXICO CITY CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: In spite of law enforcement efforts in both the United States and Mexico, the major drug trafficking organizations operating in Mexican territory continue to prosper. As V-O-A's Greg Flakus reports from Mexico City, one expert on the problem sees little hope of any immediate change for the better in the fight against drugs. TEXT: One of the Mexican journalists who has followed the story of drug smuggling most closely is Jorge Fernandez Menendez, author of the book, "Narcotrafico y Poder" or "Narcotics trafficking and Power." As the title of his book implies, he believes the drug- smuggling gangsters have grown powerful because of the enormous amounts of money they obtain. /// FERNANDEZ ACT IN SPANISH FADE UNDER /// Speaking to V-O-A at his Mexico City office, he says that this week's celebrated merger of America Online and Time Warner provides a benchmark to understand the power of drug smuggling. The corporate merger involves about 100-billion dollars - about the same amount Mr. Fernandez says is produced by drug smuggling each year. This enormous flow of cash gives the drug cartels the power to corrupt officials on both sides of the border. Mr. Fernandez rejects the notion put forth by some former U-S law enforcement agency chiefs that corruption in Mexico is the sole problem. He notes that the Arellano-Felix brothers, who run the Tijuana cartel, have been able to walk about freely in San Diego (California) as well as Tijuana. He says there is even more surprising information about the Valencia family, a smuggling group operating out of the central state of Michoacan. /// FERNANDEZ ACT in SPANISH FADE UNDER /// He says every member of the family obtained U-S citizenship. They all have U-S passports that are legal, not falsified. Mr. Fernandez says it was recently discovered that one member of the Valencia family had rented a house from the Mexican federal Attorney General's office, which had confiscated it from another drug trafficker. Jorge Fernandez Menendez rejects the idea that the fight against drugs is hopeless. He says there may be little reason to expect great success, but that the governments of both Mexico and the United States must continue to work separately and together against the illicit trade. He also rejects the notion that the recent use of agents from the U-S Federal Bureau of Investigation in the investigation of clandestine graves near Ciudad Juarez represented a violation of Mexican sovereignty. He says such cooperation is essential in the fight against drug smugglers. (Signed) NEB/GF/TVM/JP 11-Jan-2000 17:45 PM EDT (11-Jan-2000 2245 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .