Case 271 - Certifying Mexico in the War on Drugs

Boykoff, Jules and William M. Leogrande

In 1997 congressional demands that President Bill Clinton put the drug war at the top of his foreign policy agenda collided with his desire to maintain good relations with Mexico--a country that is important to the United States on a wide range of issues, from trade to immigration, but is also a major transit point for narcotics trafficking. The ensuing debate over whether the United States should “certify” Mexico’s cooperation in the war on drugs is the focus of this case study.