DATE=12/3/1999 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=MEXICO/FBI (S&L-ONLY) NUMBER=2-256821 BYLINE=GREG FLAKUS DATELINE=CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO INTERNET=YES CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: The director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI, on Friday went to the dusty compound south of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico where six bodies have been exhumed in a joint Mexico/US law enforcement operation. As VOA's Greg Flakus reports from the scene, the top US law enforcement officer said the investigation might also continue on US soil. TEXT: In a joint news conference with Mexican Attorney General Jorge Madrazo and other officials, FBI director Louis Freeh praised the investigative work being done by both FBI forensics experts and Mexican investigators. In response to reporters' questions, Mr. Freeh said he remains confident in the information provided to his agents concerning the clandestine burial grounds for victims of Mexican drug cartels. Although reports earlier this week from the FBI indicated that there were as many as 100 bodies buried in the clandestine graves, only six have been retrieved so far. But Mr. Freeh said the investigation has just begun. /// Freeh act /// We do not know how many victims may be found or may be identified. We are committed, however, to ensuring that every victim is found and identified to the best of our ability. //OPT// The Attorney General stressed, in his prior statement, that beyond the law enforcement work here, there is the humanitarian work to identify as many people as we possibly can so word of that identification can be given to their families and loved ones. /// end act END OPT /// Mr. Freeh said this operation is just one of several in the past year or so in which FBI agents have worked together with Mexican counterparts both here in Mexico and in the United States. He said this current investigation could also lead to similar searches on US soil but he offered no further details on that. /// REST OPT /// For his part, Mexican Attorney General Jorge Madrazo answered the concerns of some domestic critics who claim that the presence of the FBI agents in Mexico represents a violation of the nation's sovereignty. Mr. Madrazo angrily defended his decision to seek the help of the FBI in this case. /// Madrazo act (Spanish) /// He said binational cooperation in the fight against organized crime does not violate the nation's sovereignty. What he said does affect sovereignty is to leave criminal acts unpunished. The Mexican Attorney General said international cooperation offers the best way of fighting powerful organized crime groups. /// Madrazo act-up again briefly, then under and out. /// Mr. Madrazo said-in his words-" I am not selling my country, on the contrary I am fighting vigorously against narcotics trafficking and I appreciate the FBI for providing this help. Mr. Madrazo said the FBI has technology that Mexico does not have for this type of investigation and also counts of some of the best forensic experts in the world. The other reason for the FBI participation is that as many as 18 US citizens are among the nearly 200 people who disappeared in the El Paso/Juarez area in recent years. While 65 FBI agents are working at the sites near Juarez where the bodies are believed to have been buried, there are 20 Mexican Federal agents working in El Paso at the center established there for further examination of evidence obtained in the searches. After the news conference Friday, reporters were taken behind a stable and shown the pit, about two meters deep, where the six bodies were found. Investigators are planning to conduct similar searches at three other locations near Juarez. FBI director Freeh says both his agency and Mexican authorities have information from several sources indicating that drug traffickers used these places to torture, kill and then bury their victims. (Signed) NEB/PT TEXT: NEB/WTW/ 03-Dec-1999 18:10 PM EDT (03-Dec-1999 2310 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .