TO:     ALL STATIONS
FR.:    LATINO USA
DT:     FEBRUARY 19, 1999
RE:	LATINO USA #306 LEADS FOR MODULES

LATINO USA:  THE RADIO JOURNAL OF NEWS AND CULTURE

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EXECUTIVE PRODUCER:   ANGELICA LUEVANO

RUNDOWN FOR LATINO USA #306 FEEDING FEBRUARY 19, 
1999.

SEGMENT #1:  "MEXICO CERTIFICATION" (4:32)
Latino USA's Franc Contreras reports on the reaction in 
Mexico to the U.S. drug "certification" process.

///////////// 0:30 SECOND BUTTON /////////////////

SEGMENT #2:  "BORDER VIOLENCE" (2:52)
Carrie Kahn reports from San Diego on increased violence 
along the U.S.-Mexico border.  

SEGMENT #3:  "HURRICANE MITCH AFTERMATH" (6:40)
Latino USA correspondent Susan Leffler reports on disaster 
relief efforts in Nicaragua, more than three months after 
Hurricane Mitch.

SEGMENT #4:  "COMMENTARY: AFRICANISMOS" (4:00)
Commentator Guadalupe Garcia Vasquez shares her 
thoughts on the African roots of many words and 
expressions in Latin America. 

**FOLLOWING ARE THE SUGGESTED HOST LEAD-IN FOR 
THE SEGMENT MODULES.  NOTE:   PLEASE CREDIT LATINO 
USA WHEN USING THE MODULES.

SEGMENT #1 
President Clinton's recent trip to Mexico and his meeting 
with Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo has brought into 
focus important aspects of the U.S.-Mexico relationship.  
This session, Congress must decide whether some 22 nations 
are cooperating in the so-called War on Drugs.  The process 
is called "certification" and one of the most contested 
discussions will likely be over Mexico.  Should Congress 
decide that Mexico is not doing enough to combat drug 
trafficking, the result would be major trade sanctions.  Many 
Mexicans, including some government leaders, have come to 
resent the certification process but preceeding the decision,
Mexico does all it can to show Washington that it is 
cooperating in the war on drugs.  From Mexico City 
Franc Contreras has this report. (4:37)

SEGMENT #2 
As a frontier region where two cultures came together and 
sometimes clashed, the U.S.- Mexico border has long had a 
turbulent history.  Today, conflicts, assaults, violence and 
other threats to public safety still exist along the 2000 mile 
border.  For example, last year alone 145 people died while 
crossing illegally into the U.S. from Mexico.  Recently, both 
countries pledged to enhance communication between  law 
enforcement agencies and develop joint public safety 
programs for the benefit of all citizens.  But as Carrie Kahn 
reports from KPBS in San Diego human rights organizations 
say it's time to do more. (2:52)

SEGMENT #3 
President Clinton is asking Congress for 956 million dollars 
in additional aid for Central American and Caribbean 
countries hit by last Fall's storms.  If approved, part of 
the money would go to help Nicaragua recover from the 
October hurricane that killed thousands of people and 
destroyed highways, bridges, and croplands.  In the worst 
single incident, a rainfilled volcano burst, burying more 
than 25 hundred people in a torrent of mud and water.  
Donations and relief workers poured in to help the survivors 
but despite their brief notariety and the fact that they live 
half an hour from Leon, Nicaragua's second largest city, most 
of these survivors remain homeless more than three months 
after the tragedy.  As correspondent Susan Leffler reports, 
many people say it will take more than foreign aid to rebuild 
their lives. (6:40)

SEGMENT #4 
African roots in Latin America reach deep and wide.  And as 
Commentator Guadalupe Garcia-Vasquez reminds us, African 
influences are evident in language, the Brazilian carnaval and 
in the cheers shouted to Pope John Paul the Second during his 
recent visit to Mexico.
BACKANNOUNCE:
Commentator Guadalupe Garcia Vasquez is finishing her 
doctoral dissertation, "New York, City of Elegba."  She lives 
in the Bronx.  (4:00 voice out  4:31 music out)

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LUSA 307 PROMOS 

1.)  NEXT TIME ON LATINO USA... 

THE MUSIC OF WILLIAM CEPEDA COMBINING AFRICAN 
ROOTS WITH TRADITIONAL PUERTO RICAN SOUNDS. 
  
THAT'S NEXT TIME ON LATINO USA  THE RADIO JOURNAL 
OF NEWS AND CULTURE.