Don't forget who really is Manlio Fabio Beltrones Rivera, a report of 1997.

Drug Ties Taint 2 Mexican Governors 

The Governor of the Mexican state that borders Arizona is collaborating with one of the world's most powerful drug traffickers, creating a haven for smugglers who transport vast quantities of narcotics into the United States, according to American officials and intelligence.

Officials said this conclusion was based on a wealth of evidence, including ''highly reliable'' informers' reports that the Governor, Manlio Fabio Beltrones Rivera, took part in meetings in which leading traffickers paid high-level politicians who were protecting their operations.

According to the accounts, Raul Salinas de Gortari, the brother of the former President, received suitcases full of cash and was responsible for distributing the money to those attending.

Present and former officials said the evidence of Mr. Beltrones's role was so detailed and compelling that the United States had included his name on a confidential document provided to the transition team of President Ernesto Zedillo listing more than a dozen officials suspected of corruption. Another Mexican Governor, Jorge Carrillo Olea, was also included on the American blacklist because of reported entanglements with major drug dealers.

While Mr. Zedillo did not name either man to a federal post, both continue to wield considerable power in their states and nationally through their prominence in Mexico's governing party. Both seem to enjoy a tacit immunity from concerted criminal investigation in Mexico and the United States.

Although Mexican governors are popularly elected, presidents have the power in practice to force their removal.

Mr. Beltrones, in an interview, denied any links to drug traffickers and disputed American law enforcement officials' assertions that Amado Carrillo Fuentes, one of Mexico's most wanted drug kingpins, was operating with impunity in his state, Sonora. In addition, Mr. Carrillo Olea, who presides over Morelos, the state just south of Mexico City, disputed charges that he had cooperated with traffickers.

In a four-month investigation that draws on intelligence documents and interviews in the United States and Mexico, The New York Times examined how both Governments handled the allegations against the two Governors.

The result is a picture of official frustration on both sides of the border and, several officials asserted, a case study of why traffickers' political patrons often go unpunished.

Despite the recent disclosures about official corruption, American officials say the Clinton Administration is planning to certify later this month that Mexico is cooperating with anti-drug efforts.

Senior Administration officials say that decision reflects a belief that Mexico's leadership is doing all it can against staggering odds.

But many law enforcement officials say it also shows that the Clinton Administration considers the narcotics fight less important than fostering commerce with this country's third-largest trading partner. Thus, these officials assert, intelligence reports suggesting corruption among Mexican politicians like Mr. Beltrones receive little attention in Washington. Similarly, agents working in Mexico feel they will get little support if they scrutinize the activities of powerful Mexican officials.

President Clinton praised Mexico last week for arresting the head of its anti-narcotics program on drug charges, citing the act as evidence that corruption, even ''at the highest levels,'' was not being tolerated.

Privately, however, American officials acknowledge that Mexican traffickers' political patrons are seldom the targets of law enforcement officials in either country, even though they play an important role in the drug trade.

In a previously undisclosed draft analysis, intelligence officials assert that Mexican traffickers take in as much as $10 billion annually, then spend as much as 60 percent of that money on bribes for officials at all levels. Officials say much of the derogatory information about Mr. Beltrones and Mr. Carrillo Olea, a former director of Mexico's anti-narcotics program, has been gathered through intelligence reports from informers, ranging from inside accounts to raw gossip. Their volume, specificity and persistence over time have persuaded many American officials that the allegations against the Governors are well founded.

But officials said such material was of little use to prosecutors, who build their cases around witnesses willing to testify in American courts.

In addition, American law enforcement officials acknowledge a reluctance to invest time and money in pursuing corrupt foreign officials.

The Protection Racket

Word May Be Out, But Proof Is Lacking

''In Mexico,'' said one American prosecutor in a border state, ''political protection is difficult to prove. If we could prove it, we'd have them all under indictment. There's a big difference between knowing something and proving it in a court of law.

''You have extremely reliable intelligence sources, but unless you can prove it, why burn your sources? You'd have their body parts spread all over Sonora.''

Source: The New York Times.