Pubdate: Thu, 05 Dec 2002
Source: Newsday (NY)
Copyright: 2002 Newsday Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newsday.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/308
Author: Will Weissert, Associated Press Writer

HOMELAND SECURITY RENEWS DRUG WAR

MEXICO CITY -- The Department of Homeland Security's fight against terror 
will help revitalize the war on drugs, the U.S. drug czar said Thursday 
during a brief visit to Mexico.

The new agency's efforts to fortify U.S. borders and fight money laundering 
will help stem the flow of narcotics from Latin America to the United 
States, John P. Walters said in an interview with foreign journalists.

The wars on terror and drugs go hand-in-hand because "drugs fund violence 
and anti-democratic forces," Walters said.

"We need to stop sending hundreds of millions of dollars to brutal, violent 
groups in Mexico and Colombia and in our own country," he said.

Walters, who was in Mexico for less than a day, joined Mexican President 
Vicente Fox and Attorney General Rafael Macedo de la Concha for a ceremony 
of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission.

President Bush has said Americans who buy illegal drugs are helping fund 
U.S. enemies worldwide. During the Super Bowl in January, the White House 
launched an advertising campaign saying drug money benefits terrorists.

Walter suggested fighting drugs could be an effective way of undermining 
terrorism. The war on terror presents a "needle in a haystack problem" 
because of the relatively small number of people involved in terrorism, he 
said. On the other hand, the drug trade is much larger and easier to 
combat, he added.

Even "moderate amount of funding" from drug smuggling gangs "can be very 
dangerous" in the hands of terror groups, Walters said.

Homeland security will also improve the war on drugs by trimming 
bureaucracy that has helped international smuggling gangs slip through the 
cracks, he said. The department is part of Washington's efforts to improve 
coordination between federal agencies.

The drug trade has "used the seams between governments and within 
government to protect itself," Walters said.

Walters praised Fox's government for overseeing the arrest of some of 
Mexico's most powerful drug smugglers. Those arrests have prompted 
Colombian cartels to cut off credit to Mexican smugglers, decreasing the 
amount of cocaine moving through Mexico, he said.

Fox, who took office two years ago, said his government has made 15,000 
drug-related arrests -- including 40 major drug lords.

"Our countries can't become hostages to drugs and organized crime," he said 
Thursday.

Following Mexico's lead, Walters said his office was going after at least 
five major drug organizations, including the infamous Arellano Felix ring. 
He said it was rebuilding after the death of one leader and the arrest of 
another.

Walters said his office was "compiling names of people, many of whom don't 
know they are under investigation."

"Mexico has shown that these drug kingpins are not invulnerable," he said.
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