Customs Chief Raps Mexico’s Drug Efforts

U.S. Customs Commissioner William von Raab today criticized what he said was the Mexican government’s lack of cooperation in the effort to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the United States.

“There has been no improvement and there has been no institutional cooperation between Mexican authorities and U.S. law enforcement,” Von Raab said at a hearing of a Senate drug and customs subcommittee.

Two members of the subcommittee, Sens. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) and Dennis DeConcini (D-Ariz.), held the hearing in Las Cruces to hear from state and local authorities about drug smuggling across the Mexican border.

Von Raab, the first witness, said improved enforcement in the Southeastern states, especially on the Florida coast, has prompted smugglers to shift their operations to Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.

He said 10 times more drugs were seized in the Southwest last year than five years before.

Intercepting drugs near the desert Southwest’s border is difficult because of the vast distances involved, he said.