WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives yesterday rejected a White House decision certifying Mexico as an ally in the fight against global drug trafficking.
Representatives in the Republican-controlled House voted 251-175 against certifying Mexico as a country collaborating fully in the US anti-drug campaign. The action, however, suspends economic sanctions that normally go along with decertification because they would be against US "national interest".
It also delays decertification for 90 days to give Mexican authorities time to show that the country is co-operating with US drug-fighting efforts.
Earlier the Mexican Foreign Minister, Mr Jose Angel Gurria, said Mexico would not accept any terms imposed by the US Congress and emphasised that the only way to address the drug problem was "through co-operation".