ABSTRACT
In March of 1998, Colombia was decertified by the United States for failing to fully cooperate with U.S. counter-narcotics policies and failing to live up to its duties under the 1988 U.N. Narcotics Control Protocol. Colombia was spared harsh U.S. penalties only because the Clinton administration found it in U.S. national interests to issue a waiver. The decertification came in spite of the dismantling of the Cali drug cartel, significant arrests, seizures, eradication and other tactical advances on the ground, and a constitutional amendment reinstating Washington’s favorite tool in the drug war: extradition. That same March, Mexico was certified as a full partner in the war on drugs despite a corruption scandal involving its chief drug enforcement officer, arrested for being on the payroll of the Juárez drug cartel, and far less operational success than Colombia achieved.
