CLINTON, ZEDILLO COMMIT TO SOLVE SHARED PROBLEMS.

Byline: Stewart M. Powell Hearst Newspapers

President Clinton and Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo agreed for the first time Tuesday to set specific benchmarks for progress in their nations' chronically strained campaigns against illicit drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

The two leaders vowed to hold subordinates accountable for making tangible progress on the two politically charged issues that have bedeviled U.S.-Mexican relations for a generation.

Clinton and Zedillo signed a pair of presidential declarations at a sun-splashed outdoor ceremony on the wooded lawn of the presidential residence in the heart of the Mexican capital following several hours of discussions. A senior White House official said the accords set ``benchmarks for progress'' for the first time.

The leaders directed their Cabinet-level officers to establish specific goals for progress in 16 phases of the drug war by the end of the year and to map a common strategy to meet the targets.

Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey, the Clinton administration's drug czar, said the leaders had ``committed to assessing targets and outcomes and deliberately moving forward and achieving new realities'' in a trouble-plagued offensive that has been rife with recriminations.

White House national security adviser Samuel ``Sandy'' Berger likened the planned cooperation to forging a security alliance to combat a ``common military challenge.''

``There will be accountability,'' he said.

A White House statement said the two leaders will ``review progress'' later this year.

About 70 percent of the cocaine and 50 percent of the marijuana imported into the United States crosses Mexico, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Americans spend an estimated $50 billion a year to buy illicit drugs, sustaining a multibillion-dollar drug trafficking menace in Mexico that has claimed hundreds of lives and poured up to $30 billion into corruption and violence.

Mexican Attorney General Jorge Madrazo said as a result of the accord, ``We are speaking the same language. We will be able to set goals and courses; we will be able to deal with discrepancies and assess the results of change.''

Clinton and Zedillo also agreed to intensify efforts to combat illegal immigration, including cracking down on organized rings that smuggle undocumented immigrants across the U.S. border.

Doris Meisner, commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service, said a joint two-year study being completed next month will enable officials to gauge progress.

An estimated five million Mexican citizens are living in the United States without legal documentation - many drawn by American wages that are up to 10 times the 50 cent hourly wage common just across the U.S. border in Mexico.

``There definitely are quantifiable items which will give us a better understanding of what is going on,'' Meisner said in an interview. ``We do believe that we are seeing some measurable successes along the border.''

She pointed out that the price smugglers charge for ferrying Mexican residents into the United States has skyrocketed in the past four years as a result of stepped-up law enforcement efforts. Smugglers who used to levy $200 to $300 per person for ``guaranteed arrival in Los Angeles'' now charge $800 to $1,000 ``for one try with no guaranteed arrival,'' Meisner said.

Mexican prosecution of smuggling operations jumped 273 percent last year alone, Meisner said.

Clinton, staging the first visit of his presidency to Latin America, said his two-day summit was opening the way for the nations' 2,065-mile border to become ``our bond'' rather than a wellspring for strains.

``I have been reinforced in my conviction that we can make progress on all these fronts as long as we do it in a genuine atmosphere of mutual respect and as long as we're completely honest about our differences and willing to work hard to overcome them,'' Clinton told the joint outdoor news conference with Zedillo.

Zedillo, whose leadership may be tested by midterm congressional elections in July, said 13 bilateral agreements signed by officials Monday and Tuesday ``reflect the cooperation and the goodwill of our governments to create a border whose communities are joined by friendship and cooperation, not by conflict.''

Mexican Foreign Minister Jose Gurria said the Clinton-Zedillo summit had brought the two nations ``closer - from aloofness to commitment.''

AGREEMENTS AT A GLANCE

Here are key agreements signed Tuesday by President Clinton and Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo:

Complete by the end of the year a joint drug-fighting strategy.

Expand border-crossing points, including a new bridge between Brownsville, Texas, and Matamoros in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

The placement of Border Liaison Mechanism groups, made up of U.S. and Mexican law enforcement and inspection officials, in Presidio, Texas, and Ojinaga, Chihuahua. Expanding the BLM groups to a total of eight is meant to address border violence.

Strengthen efforts to protect the rights of migrants.

Establish a binational migration study ``to help us understand the causes and dynamics of this flow'' of immigrants. Expected in June, the study will lay the groundwork for policy-makers in the United States and Mexico.

Cooperate on stemming the cross-border flow of illegal firearms and putting together a hemispheric accord outlawing firearms trafficking.

Better share information to help trace drug-related money laundering.

Clean up the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexican border by sharing operation and maintenance costs of two sewage treatment plants at San Diego-Tijuana and Laredo-Nuevo Laredo. The Environmental Protection Agency will make $170 million in new grants through the North American Development Bank for border water projects.

Protect endangered turtles, dolphins and whales, parklands and wildlife refuges.

Give Florida and Arizona citrus access to Mexican markets, with shipments starting as early as next season. Reciprocally, Mexican wheat and pork will be granted access to U.S. markets. Mexican inspection of livestock and crops will be improved.

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