Mexico asks US to ease border checks

Mexico has asked the Reagan administration to cease its stepped-up inspections of Mexican motorists seeking to enter the United States, saying the measure is ``seriously hindering'' normal flows of people and goods between the two countries. The US began the closer inspections last weekend in the hope of finding clues to the whereabouts of Enrique Camarena Salazar, the US Drug Enforcement Agency official who was kidnapped in Guadalajara Feb. 7.

Mexico said the inspections were ``inconsistent with the spirit of friendship and understanding that both governments have resolved to develop. . . .''

In a note to the State Department it complained that the US undertook the inspections without prior consultation with Mexican authorities. Since the inspections began last weekend, there have been huge backups at border crossing points. -- 30 --