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. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager