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| DEA Chief Lauds Fox's Help Against Smugglers |
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Posted by FoM on March 02, 2002 at 16:32:43 PT By David L. Teibel, Tucson Citizen Source: Tucson Citizen 
The nation's top drug cop wanted to see for himself the challenges his agency faces in stemming the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. So yesterday Asa Hutchinson came to this city along the U.S.-Mexico border, where drug arrests are common and thousands of pounds of cocaine and marijuana are seized each year.Hutchinson, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, credited the "excellent relationship" between President Bush and President Vicente Fox for a new level of cooperation between the DEA and its Mexican counterparts. The result, he said, is "an increased sharing of drug-trafficking intelligence along the border." Mexico's anti-drug efforts have "improved dramatically" under Fox, who has significantly diminished government corruption in his country, Hutchinson said. "But we understand fully there are many miles to go," Hutchinson said. Speaking at a news conference yesterday morning at the DEA's Nogales office, Hutchinson said intelligence sharing among U.S. and Mexican law officers has resulted in significant arrests. "We have become more effective, efficient in grabbing the amount of product (drugs) they're trying to move through," he said. "We're trying to meet the president's mandate in reducing the amount of drugs coming across into the United States." Hutchinson said two-thirds of this nation's drug supply arrives across the Southwest border and through the West Coast. He had no dollar estimate for the drugs being smuggled into the United States. But he said the DEA's budget this year is $1.5 billion and "that's a small drop compared to the illegal drug trade out there." While Hutchinson said Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist group "clearly" is being funded in part by the Mideast heroin trade, there is no indication terrorist groups are funding operations with profits from drug trafficking across Mexico's border with the United States. Drug smuggling "must be prosecuted regardless of whether drugs are smuggled for monetary gain or ultimately to fund terrorism," according to the DEA chief. Hutchinson also visited DEA offices in Phoenix and met with law enforcement officials in Flagstaff, where he announced the creation of a DEA office. Note: U.S. anti-drug agency head Asa Hutchinson tours the Nogales area to get a closer look at the war on drugs. "We're trying to meet the president's mandate in reducing the amount of drugs coming across into the United States," says DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson. Source: Tucson Citizen (AZ) Related Articles: Billions In Drugs Moved Via Tunnel Authorities Find Arizona Drug Tunnel Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #2 posted by MikeEEEEE on March 02, 2002 at 17:51:20 PT |
| He's down there to promote the drug war in order to keep the narco-military in business. While Hutchinson said Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist group "clearly" is being funded in part by the Mideast heroin trade, there is no indication terrorist groups are funding operations with profits from drug trafficking across Mexico's border with the United States. Give them time, I'm sure they could make something up. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by FoM on March 02, 2002 at 16:50:23 PT |
| Study: Poppy thrives in Mexico
Associated Press Opium poppy cultivation almost tripled last year in Mexico, but there was a big reduction in Pakistan, the State Department said Friday in a report on drug production worldwide. Opium poppies are the raw material for heroin. Despite the increase in Mexico, American officials have consistently praised the level of cooperation there in combating narcotics trafficking. The study, titled the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, also concluded that farmers throughout Afghanistan took advantage of the collapse of the Taliban militia last November to resume poppy cultivation. The Taliban had banned such production but, the report said, no effort was made to seize stored opium or precursor chemicals or to arrest and prosecute narcotics traffickers. On Pakistan, the report said the country has essentially achieved its ambitious goal of eliminating opium production by the year 2000. The opium poppy crop fell to a record low of 526 acres last year, with cultivation concentrated in inaccessible areas. The report said Mexico effectively eradicated 42,000 acres of poppies last year but the remaining acreage still yielded 78 tons of opium gum. That was up from 30 tons of opium gum in 2000, the report said, adding that at current conversion rates that would mean 7.7 tons of heroin in 2001, compared with 3.3 in 2000. Heroin and cocaine are the illicit drugs that most concern the United States. In addition to the increase in poppy production last year, Mexico also registered an increase in marijuana production, from 7,700 tons to 8,140.
Newshawk: MikeEEEE [ Post Comment ] |
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