1995 Congressional HearingsIntelligence and Security
1995 Congressional Hearings
Statement by:
Thomas A. Constantine
Administrator
Drug Enforcement Administration
United States Department of Justice
Before the:
Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Regarding:
International Drug Trafficking Organizations in Mexico
Location:
Dirksen Senate Office Building
Room 419
Washington, D.C.
Date:
August 8, 1995
Note: This document may not reflect changes made in
actual delivery.
Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee: I'm pleased to appear
before you today to discuss the growing role of international
drug trafficking organizations operating in Mexico and to tell
you what the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is doing to
attack these organizations that are responsible for smuggling
tons of illegal drugs across the U.S./Mexico border.
Mexico is pivotal to the success of any U.S. drug strategy. Not
only do we share a common border, through which three-fourths of
the cocaine enters our country, but Mexico has long been a major
source country for heroin and marijuana. Within the last few
years, it has also become a major source country for
methamphetamine, as well as a transit country for chemicals,
especially ephedrine, used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.
My purpose at this hearing today is to talk about the drug
trafficking situation and to highlight our concerns about the
increased role of these international drug gangs operating in
Mexico. My comments will be limited to observations on
trafficking organizations and their methods of smuggling, the law
enforcement communities' efforts to work with Mexico, and an
assessment of our chances for success in decreasing the flood of
illegal drugs that enter this country each day and have a
devastating impact on the citizens on both sides of the border.
A Glimpse of the Problem
Mr. Chairman, an important 1989 drug seizure gave us a glimpse of
the magnitude of the problem law enforcement faces and also
illustrates just how important Mexico is to our efforts to
control illegal drugs coming into our country. In late 1989, DEA
made America's largest cocaine seizure on record (over 21.5 tons)
in Sylmar, California.
This cocaine came across the border at El Paso and was trucked to
the West Coast. Drug law enforcement was encouraged by such a
huge seizure, and we were convinced that we had seriously wounded
the Colombian drug organizations by preventing such a large
amount of illegal drugs from reaching our streets.
But, we realized our encouragement was premature when we analyzed
seized records. What we found was even more astounding. We
learned that during only a 3-month period, the organization had
succeeded in smuggling 55 tons of cocaine into the U.S. This
cocaine had been trucked to Los Angeles and had already been
distributed on our streets.
One of the most disturbing aspects of this case is that ten years
ago, we measured drug seizures in grams and pounds. Today, we
routinely measure seizures in tons-even multitons. In January,
for example, in Pasadena, Texas, a suburb of Houston, we seized
6.5 tons of cocaine. In July, we seized over 5 tons of cocaine in
the border town of El Paso. And one of the primary reasons for
these multiton shipments of cocaine is the efficient and
mutually-rewarding relationship that has emerged between the
cocaine mafia in Colombia and the drug trafficking groups
operating in Mexico.
In fact, Mr. Chairman, we estimate that the Colombian drug mafia
is using Mexico as a cocaine safe haven to store, at any one
time, as much as 70 to 100 tons of cocaine that will eventually
be smuggled across the U.S. border for distribution on American
streets. This is enough to provide a line of cocaine to every
man, woman, and child on this planet--and then some. At a
conservative estimate, this cocaine would be worth over $700
million to $1 billion on America's streets.
Role of the International Drug Traffickers
The fact that these traffickers have been able to accommodate the
transportation needs of the Cali cocaine mafia is not something
that happened overnight. Criminal organizations from Mexico have
had decades of practice. Traditionally, the Mexican border
economies have been significantly affected by the smuggling
activities into and out of the United States. It was these
organized smuggling organizations that rose to prominence in the
late 1960s and 1970s when marijuana trafficking presented the
potential for huge profits.
During the early 1980's, most of the Colombian cocaine entered
the United States through South Florida by way of the Caribbean.
But, traffickers were forced to find new routes when U.S. drug
agencies increased enforcement action in the Caribbean and South
Florida. The Colombian drug lords naturally turned to the
trafficking groups in Mexico which had what they were looking
for: proximity to the United States, a 2,000 mile expanse of
border offering unlimited smuggling possibilities, and an already
established drug trafficking infrastructure that stood ready to
serve their needs.
The drug trafficking organizations easily adapted their
operations to include cocaine trafficking, and by the mid-80's,
were well-established and reliable transporters of Colombian
cocaine. Delegating cocaine transportation to the traffickers in
Mexico was a tactical decision on the part of the Cali mafia.
With the transportation assistance of these traffickers, the
cocaine barons could now move larger bulk quantities through
Mexico which would have been logistically impossible to move by
any other means. By turning the riskiest part of the cocaine
distribution cycle (the transportation) over to these
traffickers, the Cali mafia could turn its attention to other
aspects of their cocaine enterprise. This drug trafficking
partnership has become one of both convenience and profit.
One of the first traffickers to move cocaine through Mexico and
to the U.S. was Juan Ramon Matta-Ballesteros, a Honduran, who,
from the mid-'70s to the mid-'80s, was actively involved with the
Mexican Guadalajara Cartel. This was the group responsible for
the kidnapping torture and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique
(Kiki) Camarena in 1985. The death of Agent Camarena outraged the
American public. Matta-Ballesteros has been convicted in three
separate U.S. cases and is serving a term of life imprisonment.
Emerging Traffickers Coming into their Own
Today, there is no question that drug traffickers operating in
Mexico have become major players in the international drug trade.
These veteran traffickers have been good students and have
learned valuable lessons from the drug experts--the Cali mafia.
They have seen the benefit (and profits) of working together in a
partnership to provide a needed transportation service to the
cocaine organizations in Colombia. Receiving payment in both cash
and cocaine, they have begun to establish their own cocaine
distribution networks and territories, stretching from the
Southwest border areas as far as New York. In effect, the Cali
mafia has been a willing partner in helping these organizations
create distribution and sales networks in the U.S.
Like the Cali mafia, these trafficking organizations have
demonstrated their flexibility to change trafficking routes when
law enforcement action along any one route becomes too risky to
their business. These drug groups have also followed the lead of
their predecessors by expanding and diversifying their product
line. Sophisticated trafficking organizations based in Mexico now
manufacture methamphetamine and smuggle the precursor chemicals
necessary for its manufacture. And, perhaps most important, as
they have expanded their role in the drug trade, they have made
valuable worldwide contacts, which will be necessary as they
continue to establish themselves as important players in the
world of illegal drugs.
There are a number of trafficking groups in Mexico that have
gained a firm foothold in the trafficking of drugs, but I'd like
to take a moment to describe the four major drug trafficking
organizations that work closely with the Cali mafia:
Tijuana Cartel
The organization sometimes referred to the "Tijuana
Cartel," is headed by Benjamin Arellano-Felix and his
brother Francisco. They control most of the drugs crossing the
border on the West Coast between Tijuana and Mexicali.
Feuding between this group and other organizations has become
increasingly violent. In fact, it was the feuding between the
Arrellano-Felix organization and rival drug dealers that led to
the killing of Catholic Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas-Ocampo at the
Guadalajara airport in 1993
The Arellano-Felix brothers are currently the subjects of a
nationwide manhunt by law enforcement authorities for their
involvement in the Cardinal's killing. On June 23, Mexican
authorities arrested Hector Luis Palma-Salazar, the leader of a
rival drug organization that is believed to be behind the
attempted assassinations of the Arellano-Felix brothers, as well
as the murder of Cardinal Posadas-Ocampo. Benjamin and Francisco
Arellano-Felix have both been indicted in San Diego, California,
and are DEA fugitives.
The Caro-Ouintero Organization
The Caro-Quintero organization is involved in the cultivation,
processing, smuggling and distribution of heroin and marijuana
and the transportation of Colombian cocaine into the U.S. This
organization was previously led by Rafael Caro-Quintero, known as
the "Mexican Rhinestone Cowboy," who began his criminal
career at the young age of 12 or 13 as an apprentice to Pedro
Aviles, a notorious Mexican drug trafficker.
Caro-Quintero is currently in a Mexican maximum security prison
for his involvement in the kidnaping, torture and murder of DEA
Special Agent Enrique Camarena, as well as for marijuana and
cocaine trafficking. His brother, Miguel Caro-Quintero, now runs
the organization, and is under indictment in Tucson and Denver.
Juarez: Cartel
One of the most notorious and powerful of these trafficking
organizations is the Amado Carrillo-Fuentes organization,
sometimes referred to as the "Juarez Cartel."
Carrillo-Fuentes has been the chief transporter for the recently
arrested Cali mafia leader Miguel Rodriguez-Orejuela.
Carrillo-Fuentes owns several airline companies, which enables
him to fly 727s from Colombia into Juarez, where he runs his
organization from his ranch headquarters. Increasingly, murders
in Juarez have been associated with Carrillo-Fuentes. In July,
the leader of the juvenile gangs he recruits to smuggle drugs
across the border was found shot 23 times in the head. Here in
the United States, Carrillo-Fuentes has been indicted in Miami on
heroin and marijuana charges, and in Dallas on cocaine charges.
Juan Garcia-Abrego
Another influential Mexican trafficker acting in concert with the
Cali mafia is Juan Garcia-Abrego, who is involved in smuggling
drugs from the Yucatan area in Mexico to South Texas and up to
New York. Juan Garcia-Abrego was recently added to the FBI's top
ten most wanted fugitives, with a $2 million reward for his
capture. This is the first time an international drug trafficker
has been included on the FBI list.
This organization transports large quantities of cocaine for the
Cali mafia, as well as marijuana and heroin for other
traffickers. Garcia-Abrego pioneered deals in which Mexican
traffickers take payment in cocaine, which substantially raised
their profits, and at the same time diversified their involvement
from beyond smuggling to the role of suppliers to their own drug
distribution networks. He and his organization are notorious for
the violence they employ to further and protect their illicit
trade.
He also ships bulk amounts of cash for the Cali mafia. During a
four-year period, from 1989 to 1993, $53 million was seized in
connection with the Garcia-Abrego organization. Two American
Express bankers in Brownsville, Texas, were indicted for
laundering $30 million for Garcia-Abrego, and to date, 70 members
of his organization have been prosecuted and convicted in the
U.S. Juan Garcia-Abrego has been indicted in Houston and remains
a fugitive.
Expanding Influence: Cocaine and Methamphetamine
DEA is very concerned about the expanding role of drug
organizations based in Mexico which are playing an increasingly
larger role in the shipment and distribution of cocaine and
methamphetamine to the United States.
Cocaine
In the last few years, we've seen international trafficking
organizations make major changes in their efficiency in
transporting bulk shipments of cocaine to transporting
organizations in Mexico. Traditionally trafficking organizations
used twin-engine general aviation aircraft to transport cocaine
from Colombia to transhipment locations in Mexico and the
Caribbean. Today, however, the Cali mafia has bought passenger
jets (like 727's) gutted them, and are using them to transport
multiton loads of cocaine to the trafficking organizations in
Mexico. In March of this year, for example, a Caravelle jet
aircraft was seized in the Mexican State of Sonora, after being
abandoned by traffickers when its tires became stuck in the dirt
runway. Mexican Government forces later seized 2.8 tons of
cocaine that are believed to have been off-loaded from that
Caravelle.
Law enforcement has also uncovered two tunnels built to move
cocaine from Mexico into the United States. The first was
discovered in Arizona in 1990. The second nearly-completed tunnel
was discovered in 1993 near the Tijuana Airport and led to an
unfinished warehouse in the United States.
Methamphetamine
U.S. law enforcement is also concerned about the growing role of
trafficking gangs operating in Mexico involved in the
methamphetamine trade. We directly attribute the increased
amounts of methamphetamine available in the U.S. to these
trafficking organizations which have replaced domestic outlaw
motorcycle gangs as the predominant methamphetamine producers,
traffickers, and distributors.
Unfortunately, DEA is very much aware of the problem of these
methamphetamine gangs operating in the U.S. Last summer, DEA
Special Agent Richard Fass was shot and killed in Tucson by a
methamphetamine trafficker during an undercover operation. The
ring leader of the gang responsible for Agent Fass' death has
still not been apprehended and is believed to be in Mexico. The
DEA is currently working with both the FBI and Mexican
authorities to apprehend him.
In the last three years, these trafficking organizations have
virtually saturated the western United States market with
high-purity methamphetamine, known also as "speed"
or"crank." In some areas of California, it has now
reportedly replaced cocaine as the drug of choice. With a
saturated West Coast market, these traffickers have begun to
expand their markets to the East Coast and in the South. DEA's
southern offices report a growing presence of these trafficking
groups providing methamphetamine to domestic trafficking
organizations in rural and suburban areas of Georgia, Tennessee,
Kentucky, and the Carolinas.
As supplies have increased, prices have fallen, making it a cheap
alternative to cocaine. Some have called it the "poor man's
cocaine." In 1991, for example, the lowest pound price
nationwide was $6,000. Today, in California, methamphetamine
sells for between $2,500 and $3,600 per pound.
With increased availability, methamphamine use has increased.
According to the Drug Abuse Warning Network, the number of
emergency room episodes involving methamphetamine has increased
steadily since 1991, particularly in the West. From 1991 to 1993,
episodes more than doubled in both Los Angeles and Phoenix.
The dominance of Mexico-based, poly-drug organizations in
methamphetamine trafficking is further evidence of their growing
sophistication. The smuggling skills developed while transporting
cocaine for the Cali mafia has enabled these organizations to
branch out into moving other contraband, such as precursor
chemicals, especially ephedrine and pseudoephedrine, used in the
manufacture of methamphetamine .
They have established international connections in Europe, Asia
and the Far East to obtain the shipment of tons of precursor
chemicals, particularly ephedrine, to addresses in both United
States and Mexico. During 1993 and 1994, the majority of
ephedrine shipments destined for Mexico were supplied by such
diverse countries as China, India, the Czech Republic, and
Switzerland. From mid-1993 to early 1995, DEA documented the
diversion of almost 170 tons of ephedrine used in illicit
methamphetamine production. It's important to note, however, that
DEA has obtained cooperation from many of these countries to stem
the flow of chemicals going to Mexico.
It's difficult to predict where this newest surge of
methamphetamine use and trafficking will lead, but we must not
assume that it has peaked. Unlike other drugs, methamphetamine is
one that these criminal organizations can control entirely from
beginning to end. They have the international contacts to obtain
the necessary precursor chemicals to make the drug. They have the
clandestine labs to process the chemicals into methamphetamine on
both sides of the border. They have expanded their distribution
networks across the nation by the use and intimidation of illegal
aliens. And, unlike their previous role as middle-men moving
cocaine and heroin, they can keep 100 percent of the profits from
their methamphetamine sales.
U. S. law enforcement may be in for a difficult and violent few
years as we work to get the methamphetamine problem under
control. We've already seen "meth" smuggling gangs face
off against each other. Recently, in San Diego, a confrontation
between meth smuggling groups with ties to Mexico resulted in 26
homicides. There may be more bloodshed on our streets, as these
drug gangs fight to protect (and expand) their drug turf.
DEA's Response
In response to the threats of the Mexico-based trafficking
organizations and their surrogate drug gangs operating here in
the United States, DEA has taken a number of steps to work with
our law enforcement partners in Mexico, as well as with our
Federal, state, and local colleagues here at home.
DEA has joined forces with the FBI in a Southwest Border
Initiative that targets the major Mexican trafficking
organizations for enforcement actions. Combined teams of state,
local and federal law enforcement led by DEA and FBI Special
Agents are working together with a common goal of disrupting
these gangs and bringing their leaders to justice.
For the first time, the DEA, the FBI, the Department of Justice
Criminal Division, and respective U.S. Attorneys in every state
along the Southwest Border are coordinating both intelligence and
manpower resources against a common enemy--the poly-drug
trafficking organizations that are transporting increased amounts
of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine across our
borders. Both the DEA and the FBI hold high expectations for the
success for this operation.
Three new binational Border Task Forces have been established and
will focus on the four principal trafficking organizations.
Senior personnel of the DEA, FBI, and DOJ Criminal Division serve
on a U.S./Mexican Plenary Group, working to enhance our
cooperation against narcotics, money laundering, arms smuggling,
and other crimes.
Mr. Chairman, in this open forum I cannot explain the specifics
of how this new initiative will work, but I would be happy to
discuss this in more detail in a closed session or a private
briefing.
Our support for Mexico's drug fighting efforts is critical to
their success--and ultimately to our own. Attorney General Reno
and Mexican Attorney General Antonio Lozano-Gracia have pledged
to work cooperatively to address the problems. Hopefully, a close
and coordinated law enforcement response by our two countries
will have an impact on this growing problem.
Future Threats: An Assessment
There is no question that the international drug trafficking
organizations operating in Colombia and Mexico have had a direct
impact on the multiton quantities of cocaine law enforcement is
forced to deal with today. These organizations have proven to be
a serious threat to both the United States and Mexico.
In recent years, as the political and economic ties between the
United States and Mexico have strengthened, a new generation of
international traffickers have been able to carve out an ever
larger share of the world's drug trade and pose a growing threat
on both sides of the border. We've seen these trafficking
organizations grow from low-level smuggling groups to
sophisticated organizations that smuggle more and more drugs of
every kind--cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and now
methamphetamine--into the U.S. They are increasingly being paid
for their transportation expertise with cocaine, a move that
could prove to be the undoing of the Cali mafia and could shift
the balance of power within the worldwide cocaine trade.
Mr. Chairman, in a few years down the road, I believe it's
entirely possible that these newly emerging groups could rise to
an equal (or superior) footing with the Cali mafia. If this
happens, life as we know it in both the United States and Mexico
will change dramatically. They care little for the devasting
impact they have on the people of Mexico and the United States.
They are international criminal elements that must be dealt with.
The President of Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo, has publically stated
to the American media that drug trafficking is a threat to
Mexican national security, not only because of the crime that is
inherent in such activity, but also because of the growing wealth
that enables traffickers to corrupt police and government
institutions.
As these organizations grow in wealth and sophistication, they
threaten to overwhelm the capabilities of any law enforcement
system, including Mexico. By comparison, we have a professional
law enforcement system in the United States, at the Federal,
state and local level, that promotes and encourages high
standards in recruitment, training, internal inspections,
standards of operations and accountability to electecl officials.
We have a criminal justice system that is quick to respond to
charges of unethical or corrupt actions on the part of law
enforcement. It has helped to professionalize our law enforcement
agencies and insure a continuing quest for ethics and integrity.
Despite our best efforts, unethical or illegal activities do
occasionally occur within the ranks of our law enforcement
agencies, requiring swift and decisive government action to
preserve the public's faith and trust.
As a society, we provide modern and sophisticated resources to
our law enforcement agencies to combat the criminal elements
confronting them. The law enforcement institutions in Mexico do
not presently have an infrastructure similar to those in the U.S.
The development of such institutions will require a substantial
commitment of time and resources to achieve the necessary level
of professionalism. The potential exists that if this is not
done, they may be overwhelmed by the wealth and influence of the
drug organizations.
We are not alone in recognizing this problem. Attorney General
Lozano has moved to have special police units report directly to
him. He has announced a plan to include reviews of all Federal
police officers and prosecutors, with mandatory drug testing, to
combat internal corruption. I cite this only to illustrate that
the Mexican government itself recognizes this is a problem.
It is imperative that we work with our partners in Mexico to
blunt the influence these drug traffickers are having in both our
countries. It is also imperative that our own Federal, state, and
local law enforcement continue to work cooperatively together to
make the best use of our resources, as well as to increase our
impact on these trafficking organizations. Surely, when we speak
of tons of drugs coming across our borders and causing tremendous
damage to the health and well-being of our citizens, we are
talking of a national security threat that demands our immediate
and continuous attention.
DEA is hopeful that future counterdrug efforts with Mexico will
be successful. In the past year, Mexico has instituted new
programs that include attempts to professionalize its law
enforcement institutions and increase cross-border cooperation to
address the threat of the international traffickers. The direct
and cooperative communication between Attorney General Reno and
Attorney General Lozano should be of great help in securing a
coordination of our resources to address a common problem. The
threat is serious--and it is real.