Press Release

Cummings Calls on ONDCP to Consult Mexican Government
Encourages Cooperation Before Implementation of New Counternarcotic Strategy

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), Chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Drug Policy, called on John P. Walters, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), to fix a failing drug interdiction plan in Mexico.

“We cannot afford to spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on a program that will not produce results,” Congressman Cummings said. “People across the country are suffering from the scourge of illegal drugs that have found their way to our streets from Mexico.”

A new plan, known as the Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy, was designed in 2006 in response to a congressional mandate. According to a report released today by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), despite spending nearly $400 million in taxpayer dollars since 2000 to cut off the flow of illicit drugs from Mexico, importation of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamines continue to rise.  Furthermore, the GAO reports that corruption persists in Mexico, and ONDCP has failed to consult with the Mexican government regarding certain proposals that would require the cooperation of the government.

“Mexico is the main thoroughfare for drugs produced in South and Central America to enter our country, and we are seeing a continual increase in the amount of illegal narcotics gaining entry in this manner,” Congressman Cummings said. “We cannot have a successful counternarcotics strategy without enlisting the cooperation and participation of Mexican authorities—and the Drug Czar must recognize this fact.”

While the number of seizures of illegal drugs has generally increased, it has not increased proportionately with supply.  Additionally, concerns have been raised about the number of seizures of methamphetamine, increasing five-fold in the past six years, indicating a significant increase in supply.

“Mexico serves as a major hub for the drug trafficking industry, and the statistics showing such significant increases in the amount of narcotics making it past the border are a major cause for concern,” Congressman Cummings said. “While it is encouraging that we have seen some successes in combating this problem, our progress has not kept pace with the growing flow of drugs into our country.”

Problems highlighted in the GAO report include the inability of U.S. law enforcement officers to board Mexican-flagged vessels suspected of transporting illicit drugs without specific permission, the suspension of an aerial monitoring program along the U.S. border due to personnel status issues, and the difficulty in delivering and maintaining helicopters for surveillance.

The report also highlights concerns about increased power of Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTO’s), which have expanded illicit activities throughout Mexico and to almost every region of the U.S. The DTO’s, which have developed increasingly sophisticated drug trafficking methods and become more violent, have raised additional challenges for Mexico’s efforts to curb the problem.

“We cannot underplay the importance of decreasing the ease with which drug traffickers are able to bring narcotics into our country,” Congressman Cummings said.  “I urge Mr. Walters to act now to work with Mexico to create an effective plan to fight against this problem.”

Congressman Cummings is the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Drug Policy.  He formerly served as Ranking Democrat on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources, which had oversight authority over the Office of National Drug Control Policy.  As such, he led investigations into the effectiveness of ONDCP’s National Drug Control Strategy.

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