DRUGS-US-MEXICO: War on the Mafia, Unilateral Co-operation?

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Diego Cevallos

MEXICO CITY, May 19 1998 (IPS) - Operation White House – the US scheme to uncover money laundering activities in banks in Mexico – only went to prove a friendly co-operation agreement was not enough to do away with Washington’s deep mistrust of its neighbour.

Three months after the signing of an exemplary, “historic” bilateral antidrugs strategy, Monday, the United States disclosed for the last three years it had been carrying out a unilateral undercover investigation to combat money laundering.

Bank directors and high ranking government officials in Mexico, classed by Washington as excellent partners and effective campaigners against the mafia, admitted had known nothing of Operation White House, which raised charges against the officials of three leading local banks.

Although the investigation showed Washington had preferred not to tell Mexico about its activities, for fear of leaks, no local officials questioned the operation or complained of the unilateral action. On the contrary, they offered all their support.

“Mutual support” and “total confidence” were supposedly the key phrases in anti-mafia action between the two nations from March 1996, when the High Level Contact Group was created, involving all the officials charged with fighting the mafia

In the latest bilateral meetings, US authorities declared the suspicions generated by the detention in February 1997 of the Mexican antidrugs chief General Jose Gutierrez, accused of protecting the mafia, had been overcome.

According to US Treasury Secretary, Robert Rubin, and Attorney General Janet Reno, Operation White House proved officials from the Mexican Confia, Banomer and Serfin banks, all of which have offices in the United States, had laundered drug money.

This operation led to the detention of 26 Mexicans and the confiscation of around 100 million dollars – a drop in the ocean compared with 1995 US police reports, which claimed more than 30 billion dollars were laundered by mafias in Mexico each year.

Chairman of the Bankers Association of Mexico, Carlos Gomez y Gomez, complained some “lower ranking officials” – the arrested include branch managers – became involved in illicit activities adding that the local banking system, which employs 140,000 people, is clean.

In April, in order to combat money laundering, the banks adopted regulations forcing them to report all movements of sums of more than 10,000 dollars, while the United States trained Mexican personnel to form a financial intelligence body.

Furthermore, the Money Laundering Investigations Unit was created, in the Attorney General’s Office, although here too they were unaware of the investigations underway.

According to Washington, Operation White House was the biggest ever anti-money laundering operation ever launched by the United States, covering Mexico, Colombia, Italy, Canada and Aruba.

Mexican analysts like Jorge Castaneda and Ignacio Catalan declared themselves surprised by the extent of the operation, as it had rounded up very little money and had not caught out any US banks, although this nation has the highest drug consumption rate on the planet.

Various investigations and reports from authorities leaked to the press indicate that the mafias touched the very core of the Mexican political system and were involved in the assassination fo some public figures, including the presidential candidate, Luis Colosio, in 1994.

Up until now, however, no leading authority or official has been arrested on narcotrafficking charges.

Some governors are known to have worked with the mafias, as was the case of retired general Jorge Carillo, forced to leave his post in the state of Morelos Monday until the accusations of corruption against him can be investigated.

Research by the Independent University of Mexico indicate the drug trafficking bands operating in the country make an annual income of between 15 and 30 billion dollars, of which some 800 million are “invested” in bribes to the authorities.