House Hearings in S.D. to Hit Drug Smuggling

The House Select Committee on Narcotics Abuse and Control will hold hearings in San Diego next week to look into the growing problem of drug smuggling from Mexico into the United States, especially California.

At last week’s meeting in Mexicali between President Reagan and Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid, Administration officials said that Mexico is a major supplier of marijuana and heroin to the United States. The officials also said that Mexico has become a key transshipment point for cocaine coming into the United States from South America.

Federal drug enforcement officials say the United States is the world’s largest user of illegal drugs. At the Mexicali meeting, Mexican officials told the Reagan Administration they are increasing efforts to stop drug shipments into the United States, but complained that in order for these efforts to be effective, U.S. drug use must be curbed.

The committee will hear testimony from local, federal and state law enforcement officials--including California Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp--on Thursday, beginning at 9 a.m. in the Board of Supervisors meeting room of the County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway. Spokeswoman Cathy Chase said the committee will also hold hearings in El Paso, Tex., on Monday and Tucson, Ariz., on Tuesday.

Texas Gov. Mark White and New Mexico Gov. Tony Anaya are scheduled to testify in El Paso about the increase in illicit drugs being smuggled into their states from Mexico, Chase said.

Chase said that, after the San Diego hearings, the committee will travel to Mexico City for two days of talks with Mexican officials on ways to stop the flow of drugs into this country. Committee members also will meet with local law enforcement officials in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso; in Nogales, about 65 miles south of Tucson, and in Tijuana.

“Despite increased enforcement by Customs and DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), South Florida is still the major entry point for illegal cocaine shipments into the United States,” Chase said. “However, the pressure that is being applied there is more and more forcing the smugglers to send their drug shipments across the Mexican border.”

The Coast Guard and U.S. Customs in Florida have taken an active role in intercepting drug shipments that are flown and shipped through the Caribbean. Customs uses two P-3A reconnaissance planes in the Gulf of Mexico to find drug boats.

According to Chase, an estimated 125 tons of cocaine are shipped into the United States each year, and U.S. drug enforcement agents are able to seize about one-fifth, or 25 tons, of the illegal shipments. She said that DEA estimates show that about 25% of the cocaine is shipped through Mexico.

“We’ve learned that Mexican traffickers are taking a more active role with cocaine producers in Peru, Bolivia and Colombia to bring the drug into this country. The bottom line is that Mexico is fast becoming a major drug supplier,” Chase said.

Rep. Jim Bates (D-San Diego), who was instrumental in bringing the hearings to San Diego, said the committee will look into the possibility of providing federal funds to the Border Crimes Prevention Unit to use it in the fight against drug smuggling.

The unit, composed of Border Patrol agents and San Diego police officers, patrols the border canyons at night, mostly between the San Ysidro port of entry and the Tijuana Airport, to protect illegal aliens who enter the United States from Mexican border bandits.

“The border unit has a tough job, but the question is, has their role been too limited?” Bates said. “The committee is going to look at that issue and see if, with federal reimbursement, we can use them to help stop the flow of narcotics.”

The committee hearings are part of a renewed drive against drug trafficking. Last week Reagan and De la Madrid agreed to hold a future conference of government and law enforcement officials from the Western Hemisphere in an effort to curb drug smuggling. In December, U.S. Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III met with his Mexican counterpart in San Antonio, Tex., to discuss the drug problems facing both countries.