United States/Mexico Bi-National Drug Strategy
Strategy Component
Alliance Point 9: Increase the abilities of our democratic institutions
to attack and root out the corrupting influence of the illegal drug trade
in both countries.
Professional and ethical behavior is the solid base upon which a justice
system and public trust must be founded. Criminal elements, particularly
large-scale criminal organizations seek to compromise government personnel
in order to advance their criminal enterprises and evade justice. The more
sophisticated and economically powerful the organization, the greater the
corruptive influence is.
As a consequence of the increase in the drug trafficking and in the
economic power attained by criminal organizations, the actions of the latter
constitute a threat to the rule of law and institutions. Extensive chains
of corruption of international scope have emerged, making it necessary
for the countries to establish cooperation mechanisms to combat this problem
effectively.
The United States and Mexico are combating corruption in all its forms
and will seek to identify ways of cooperation in order to strengthen their
respective programs to deal with this problem.
In order to guarantee confidentiality in eventual investigation processes,
measures will be strengthened to guarantee the security of the information
shared on that basis. Both countries will make efforts, in accordance with
their respective domestic laws, to conduct prior notifications in order
to strengthen the judicial cases arising from corruption investigations.
In cases in which release of information is by government officials
for the public record, both governments will make good faith efforts to
notify the other in advance of release when the information may affect
an ongoing investigation or cooperative effort.
The governments of the two countries will continue to support bilateral
and multilateral efforts to combat corruption associated with drug trafficking.
Objectives
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Increase the capabilities of governmental institutions to combat and eliminate
potential corruption associated with illegal traffic in drugs in both countries.
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Enhance programs to detect and pursue cases of corruption in government
organizations involved in the fight against narcotics trafficking, and
to remove corrupt personnel and establish permanent systems to deter further
compromises.
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Exchange information between the two governments regarding anti-corruption
programs, regulations, procedures and techniques to identify and impede
corruption in the government institutions in each country.
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Prevent drug trafficking from infiltrating government agencies of both
countries.
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Ensure security and confidentiality in investigations.
Actions
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The Governments of Mexico and the United States will work to ensure ratification
by the congresses of the two nations of the Inter-American Convention Against
Corruption, adopted in May 1996 by the OAS.
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The Governments of Mexico and the United States will continue developing
specific programs to strengthen their justice and law enforcement systems.
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Each country will develop and maintain a program to detect and follow-up
cases of corruption involving authorities responsible for the fight against
drug trafficking.
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The Governments of Mexico and the United States will strengthen their procedures
for safeguarding sensitive information exchanged between the governments.
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The Governments of Mexico and the United States will exchange information
on current national programs, regulations, procedures and techniques to
prevent, identify, and combat cases of corruption in government institutions,
implementing the appropriate security systems when the risks of corruption
are identified.
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The Governments of Mexico and the United States, to avoid compromising
investigations and judicial proceedings on corruption, will consider the
need to engage in consultations prior to the exchange of information in
such cases, in order to guarantee the confidentiality of the shared information.
6.1 Both governments will make every effort to ensure that any
information released to the media, congress, or the public is accurate.
To the extent possible consistent with domestic law and in consideration
of exigent circumstances, each government will seek to inform the other
of impending releases of information that might affect an ongoing investigation
or cooperative effort.
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The Governments of Mexico and the United States will seek to sensitize
key private industry sectors to the risk of infiltration by criminal elements
seeking to obtain valuable information, to conceal the proceeds of drug
trafficking, or to facilitate smuggling activities.
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To the extent possible, the governments will seek to root out such corruption
through both legal and regulatory means including through the rigorous
application of penalties and sanctions authorized by law.
