Pubdate: Sat, 23 Sep 2000
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2000 The Dallas Morning News
Contact:  P.O. Box 655237, Dallas, Texas 75265
Fax: (972) 263-0456
Feedback: http://dmnweb.dallasnews.com/letters/
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
Forum: http://forums.dallasnews.com:81/webx
Author: Nancy San Martin

DRUG PROGRAM MOVING TO EL PASO

Authorities On Border Fear More Bureaucracy

EL PASO -- A plan by the nation's top anti-drug official to relocatea 
multi-agency funding program from San Diego to El Paso is being met with 
harsh criticism from law enforcement authorities along the border who view 
the move as an unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.

"There are a lot of upset people all along the border," said El Paso County 
Sheriff Leo Samaniego "It's a bureaucratic level that we could all live 
without."

Photo by Christ Chavez / Special to DMN From left: Barry McCaffrey meets 
with Chihuahua, Mexico, Gov. Patricio Martinez and Ciudad Ju=C3=A1rez Mayor 
Gustavo Elizondo.

During a two-day visit to El Paso that ended Friday, Barry McCaffrey, 
director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, told 
the heads of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies that El Paso 
soon will be the new home of the Southwest Border High Intensity Drug 
Trafficking Areas headquarters, a multimillion-dollar program to combat 
drug trafficking.

"We now have organized intelligence to support the counter-drug mission," 
Mr. McCaffrey said.

The move is necessary to support an abundant source of drug intelligence 
efforts and improve drug enforcement coordination, Mr. McCaffrey said.

While law enforcement authorities agree that El Paso is a major entry point 
for drugs, setting up an office that already is viewed by some as 
inefficient will only make funding accessibility more complicated, the 
sheriff and other area law enforcement officials said. Although most won't 
speak publicly about it, they view the new plan with skepticism.

The HIDTA program provides federal funds to areas that exhibit serious 
drug-trafficking problems.

"El Paso is probably the leading entry point of illegal drugs into the 
United States, but that office isn't going to do a single thing," said 
Sheriff Samaniego, who also serves as chairman of the Southwest Border 
HIDTA executive committee. "We're doing great with the initiatives we all 
have. I don't think we've ever had any better communication and coordination."

In addition to local law enforcement, El Paso also supports offices for the 
DEA, FBI, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs, Joint Task Force Six, the El 
Paso Intelligence Center and other agencies with efforts dedicated to 
curbing narcotics trafficking.

The Southwest Border HIDTA was established in 1990 as one of five funding 
resources for various regions in South Texas, West Texas, New Mexico, 
Arizona and California. Those involved with the program recently voted to 
dismantle the San Diego headquarters so that each region could apply for 
its own funding for programs as opposed to going through the San Diego office,

Sheriff Samaniego said he and others believe that the San Diego unit had 
become a "self-appointed czar on the border" that did not fulfill its 
obligation to the various regions. He said relations between various El 
Paso-area drug-fighting agencies has already improved in recent months, and 
he fears that consensus-building could deteriorate.

The reorganization plan announced by Mr. McCaffrey calls for "a unification 
strategy and a coordinated HIDTA budget for the entire Southwest Border area."

That will dilute efforts already underway, critics said.

"Everybody's got different needs. We're battling different trends, 
different problems," said Sheriff Samaniego.

It is not clear when the relocation to El Paso will occur, how many staff 
members the headquarters will have or where it will be located.

The Southwest border has been a strong focus of drug-control efforts, with 
massive increases in funding and staffing in recent years. Funding is 
expected to increase by 48 percent to more than $892 million by next year. 
The number of Border Patrol agents also is expected to multiply to nearly 
8,400.

Mr. McCaffrey said the goal of the reorganization plan is to increase the 
number of drug busts through coordinated efforts. But critics say joint 
operations already are done through relationships that have been carefully 
established and have taken time to flourish.

"Is what we already have established enough? No, it's not enough," said 
Robert Castillo, special agent in charge of the DEA in El Paso. "We have to 
be innovative. But whether or not this is the answer, we just don't know."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens