http://www.dailybulletin.com/news/ci_3524712

Mexico's drug help shaky
70% of cocaine shipments to U.S. go through our southern border
By Sara A. Carter, Staff Writer
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin

More than 70 percent of U.S.-bound narcotics shipments pass through Mexico, yet the U.S. government continues to grant that country special status as a nation in compliance with anti-narcotics trafficking standards and gives it millions of dollars in aid, according to a 2004 congressional report.

More than 28 nations have received certification from the U.S. government since 1986, when Congress passed a resolution requiring drug-producing or drug-transient countries to comply with anti-drug laws before qualifying for U.S. financial assistance.

In 2002, Congress enacted the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, which gave the president authority to designate countries that have failed to meet the requirements. Mexico has never failed.

According to the Congressional Research Service report, "President Bush has made the required designations for fiscal years 2002 through 2005, and Mexico has not been mentioned by U.S. officials, except to say that it has been performing well and is far from failing to meet international counter-narcotics obligations."

White House officials Friday said they had no comment and referred all questions to the U.S. State Department.

In 2005, only Bolivia and Venezuela were found out of compliance -- failing "demonstrably for fighting narcotics" -- and were not certified by the United States, according to officials with the U.S. State Department. Both countries lost their status for funding.

"Mexico is meeting their international obligations to combat narcotics in order to be certified in the annual certification process," said a State Department official who requested anonymity.

However, according to the Department of State's Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, "Mexico is the principal transit country for South American cocaine entering the United States, the leading foreign source of marijuana, and a principal source of heroin," according to the report.

The report, produced by a nonpartisan agency within the Library of Congress, also states that Mexico is a major producer and transient point for methamphetamine and other synthetic drugs. Further, the majority of money derived from these illicit operations is laundered by trafficking organizations in Mexico -- exploiting Mexican banks and financial institutions to disperse the money globally.

"One thing's for sure, Mexico's system of government is filled with corruption from the inside out," said Hardrick Crawford, former special agent and chief of the FBI's El Paso field office. Crawford also was head of FBI narcotics operations in Miami during the 1980s. "Our law enforcement officials lack the significant cooperation from Mexico, and our own government to protect our nation from narcotics and terrorist activities."

THE DRUG CORRIDOR


Mexico has received nearly $400 million in assistance for military and law enforcement training from the United States, according to the State Department's budget. In 2004, the USAID program under the State Department gave nearly $34 million in assistance to Mexico to reinforce President Vicente Fox's reforms for education, law enforcement and health care.

The certification process allows designated nations to receive U.S. economic aid as long as international regulations to curtail drug-related crimes and trafficking in their own nations are followed.

"Mexico has not proven to be a nation willing to stop narcotics trafficking," Crawford said. "There are good people in Mexico in the government, but those good people refuse to speak up because if they do they'll be killed."

A 2003 Department of State, Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs report states that "an estimated 70 percent of the U.S. bound cocaine shipments pass through (Mexican) territory." And that the cocaine is transported through the Mexico-Central American corridor. According to the report, these estimates are higher than in previous years.

In 2002, nearly 65 percent of cocaine entered from Mexico, and in 2001 only 50 percent of cocaine entered through Mexico, according to the report.

Further, the report noted that Mexico, which produces only 5 percent of the world's opium poppy, is supplying the United States with 30 percent to 40 percent of the world's opium because of its porous borders and close proximity to the United States.

In other words, drug traffickers from countries such as Afghanistan -- where the majority of heroin is produced -- are using the Mexican corridor to bring narcotics into the United States, Crawford added.

Marijuana also is mentioned in the report, which states that Mexico, "is by far the leading foreign source of marijuana consumed in the United States."

MEXICO'S EFFORTS


Mexico has made strides in combating narcotics trafficking and cartel operations within its borders, a state department official said.

A 2005 State Department report on Mexico's anti-narcotics efforts, expected to be released March 1, shows a slight increase in narcotics arrests. The Mexican government, in cooperation with the United States, intercepted and destroyed 1,760 metric tons of marijuana in 2005 for a total of 16,062 metric tons in the past 10 years.

The report added that Mexican law enforcement officials destroyed only 30 tons of cocaine, but the total over the past decade is 272.9 metric tons.

This past year, however, only small amounts of heroin were intercepted. A total of 0.6 metric tons was seized. During the past decade, nearly 6.3 metric tons were captured, according to the report.

And despite the fact that Mexico arrested more than 14,000 narcotics suspects last year and seized more than 1,600 vehicles, law enforcement officials and border agents interviewed by the Daily Bulletin said Mexico's efforts are minimal to meet the standards required by the certification process.

"We serve as a pressure relief valve," said T.J. Bonner, president of the National Border Patrol Council. "They really have no interest in helping us out. Our law enforcement officials and border patrol agents have been abandoned for the sheer cost of providing big business with cheap labor and keeping our Mexican neighbor happy."

But State Department officials say that Mexico has implemented a variety of measures to reduce crime. In 2005, the Mexican government implemented the Advance Passenger Inspection System. The program screened more than 15 million air passengers arriving or departing Mexico and identified more than 1,100 people sought by law enforcement agencies for various crimes.

Further, the Mexican government provided 20 nonintrusive inspection equipment units in past three years (13 installed; seven being constructed) that have aided in detecting and seizing millions of dollars of contraband and bulk cash.

In 2005, law enforcement authorities seized more than $20 million in drug proceeds at Mexico City Airport alone, the state department official said.


Mexico Struggles Despite Efforts


Although the Congressional Research Service report suggests that Mexico and the United States have developed greater cooperation in fighting drug trafficking and other transnational crimes, Mexico still shows little signs of decreasing the amount of drugs coming across the border.

The slight increase in numbers of arrests in 2005 is only offset by the numbers in previous years. In 1998 through 2000, the number of arrests ranged from 10,000 to 11,000. The numbers dropped down to 7,055 in 2002 and rose by just more than 700 arrests the following year.

"The power of the drug cartels is significant," Crawford said. "They influence the culture of the Mexican government and have played a strong role in Mexican policy."

The report stated that while efforts to destroy drug crops has expanded since 2003, compared to previous years, the estimated amount of opium poppy grown in Mexico increased 74 percent, and the estimated growth of marijuana in Mexico increased 71 percent.

"Drugs bring in lots of money," Crawford said. "In a nation where bribery is second nature it is not difficult to believe that government officials and military are involved in trafficking narcotics. Arrests and destruction of narcotics is sometimes used as a smoke-screen to achieve an end. The fact is, Mexico's border is an open gateway for drug lords and terrorists."

Reports of men dressed as Mexican soldiers assisting drug traffickers across the border and an armed standoff between such men and Texas law enforcement officers this past month sparked Congressional and Senate hearings.

A report published by the Daily Bulletin in early January revealed that the Department of Homeland Security had monitored more than 200 Mexican military incursions since 1996.

"Despite the unprecedented levels of cooperation between the United States and Mexico, and the major Mexican strides against the leading drug trafficking organizations, Mexico continues to be the principal transit country for South American cocaine entering the United States, the leading source of marijuana, and the principal source of heroin," according to the Congressional Research Service report.


Sara A. Carter can be reached by e-mail at sara.carter@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-8552.