South Texas Border and San Antonio Market Areas

The South Texas HIDTA region consists of two primary drug markets--the South Texas border area and San Antonio. The South Texas border area is a primary smuggling corridor for U.S.-bound illicit drug shipments from Mexico. San Antonio has recently emerged as a key transshipment point for cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin destined for drug markets throughout the United States.

To Top      To Contents

South Texas Border

Overview

Large quantities of cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin enter the United States through South Texas. Most of these drugs are not intended for local distribution and are transported to other areas of the country; however, some spillover distribution does occur in the South Texas HIDTA region. Shipments destined for markets outside the South Texas border area are typically stored at stash locations in distribution centers (San Antonio, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Houston) pending transportation arrangements; shipments are also transported directly from the border region to their intended destination, but to a lesser extent.

Traffickers concentrate their smuggling operations through three major smuggling corridors within the region--Del Rio/Eagle Pass, Laredo, and the Lower Rio Grande Valley. These corridors are the main population and economic centers of the South Texas border region and create an environment conducive to drug smuggling and money laundering activities. However, drug traffickers exploit the entire length of the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas as well as the coastal border in the South Texas HIDTA region. The South Texas border region encompasses several major land POEs that provide pedestrian, vehicular, and rail transportation options for legitimate commerce and drug traffickers. Traffickers exploit the high volume of cross-border traffic as well as the existing transportation infrastructure to smuggle large quantities of illicit drugs into the United States. The South Texas HIDTA border area is also vulnerable to drug smuggling and other criminal activities that take place between POEs. The Rio Grande River is easily breached at a number of low-water crossings by traffickers on foot and in vehicles and by maritime conveyances along deeper stretches of the river. The South Texas Gulf Coast is vulnerable to traffickers who use maritime conveyances.

The transportation infrastructure in the region, including networks of interstates, U.S. highways, and state highways, facilitates the transportation of illicit drug shipments from the border area to interior drug markets. The Del Rio/Eagle Pass corridor is supported by U.S. Highways 57, 83, 90, and 227, which extend from the border to the interior of Texas. Interstate 35 is the primary transportation route leading from the border at Laredo; US 59 provides access to I-37, which connects Corpus Christi to San Antonio. U.S. Highways 77 and 281 are the principal transportation routes that traverse the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Production

Drug production in the South Texas HIDTA border area is minimal. The ready availability of large quantities of most major drugs of abuse, such as methamphetamine and marijuana, in Mexico and in the border region minimizes the necessity to produce these drugs in South Texas; however, traffickers locally produce limited amounts of methamphetamine and marijuana and convert powder cocaine to crack. South Texas law enforcement officers have seized a small number of methamphetamine laboratories near the border. These laboratories were concentrated near Del Rio and Laredo as well as in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and were operated by independent dealers or outlaw motorcycle gangs (OMGs). Marijuana production along the border is negligible, particularly because of unfavorable climate conditions. Small quantities of crack cocaine are converted along the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas, specifically in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. However, most of the crack cocaine distributed and abused along the border is supplied from larger crack conversion operations in Corpus Christi, Houston, and San Antonio.

Transportation

Mexican DTOs exploit the high volume of cross-border vehicular and pedestrian traffic at South Texas POEs to smuggle large quantities of drugs into the South Texas HIDTA region. Traffickers use crossing points located at and between POEs along the South Texas border to smuggle illicit drugs. The South Texas HIDTA region comprises 17 border crossings located between Del Rio and Brownsville. The Laredo POE is the largest inland POE in the United States and one of the busiest, handling between 6,000 and 9,000 commercial vehicles per day. It is estimated that the Laredo POE handles approximately 40 percent of all Mexican exports to the United States. Mexican DTOs rely on overland methods as their primary means to smuggle and transport illicit drug shipments into and through the South Texas HIDTA region. Traffickers typically conceal smaller drug shipments in hidden compartments in private and commercial vehicles, while they generally transport bulk quantities in commercial tractor-trailers, concealing them in and among legitimate cargo, under a cover load, or behind false walls in the trailer. Traffickers also recruit couriers traveling on passenger buses to transport drug shipments from the border area to interior U.S. staging areas and drug markets. The POEs at Del Rio, Eagle Pass, and Laredo and those located in the Lower Rio Grande Valley are entry points for drug shipments destined for Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. In addition to vehicular drug smuggling, the South Texas HIDTA region is vulnerable to smuggling by railroads. The POEs of Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Laredo, and Brownsville provide rail access to the United States from Mexico. However, the extent of smuggling by railroad is relatively unknown because of difficulties that law enforcement officials encounter in inspecting railcars, particularly their size and number. For example, one train car containing 50 boxcars can carry 5,000 tons (or 10 million pounds) of cargo.

Figure 2. South Texas HIDTA region transportation infrastructure.

d-link

Traffickers routinely exploit South Texas POEs; however, they also smuggle significant quantities of illicit drugs, primarily marijuana, between POEs along the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas. Traffickers easily traverse the Rio Grande River, which demarcates the border and which, in many locations, can be crossed on foot, in boats, or by vehicle. After shipments are smuggled across the river, they are generally loaded into waiting vehicles for transport to a stash location or concealed in vegetation until they can be retrieved. However, traffickers try to avoid stashing drug shipments along the river; doing so leaves the drugs vulnerable to theft by other DTOs or seizure by law enforcement officers.

The location of the South Texas HIDTA renders the region vulnerable to maritime smuggling across the Rio Grande River and through the Gulf of Mexico. Traffickers use fishing boats, pleasure boats, and rafts to smuggle illicit drug shipments across the Rio Grande River in those areas navigable by watercraft, including Lake Amistad, the Amistad National Recreation Area, and Falcon Lake. Traffickers also exploit the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, seaports, shipping channels, bays, and barrier islands along the Gulf Coast in South Texas to smuggle drugs into the country from Mexico. These navigable waterways support go-fast boats, fishing vessels, shrimp boats, shark boats, tugboats, barges, and freighters. Law enforcement officials report that 20- to 25-kilogram bundles of cocaine frequently wash ashore along the Gulf Coast, quite likely from maritime drug trafficking operations in the Gulf of Mexico. Limited law enforcement resources dedicated strictly to marine enforcement leave the South Texas HIDTA border area particularly vulnerable to maritime smuggling.

The South Texas HIDTA border area is potentially vulnerable to drug smuggling by air, but this method of transportation does not appear to be widely used by traffickers. The area contains at least 156 airstrips, including six international airports. There are also an unknown number of private airstrips, unregistered airstrips, and flat stretches of road that could support drug smuggling by air conveyance. While aircraft appear to be used rarely by traffickers who smuggle drugs into South Texas, Mexican DTOs use aircraft to transport bulk quantities of illicit drugs from the interior of Mexico to the Mexico side of the U.S.-Mexico border; the drugs are then generally smuggled across the border in land conveyances.

South Texas has ranked first among Southwest Border areas in cocaine seizures since at least 2002. The amount of cocaine seized in South Texas has increased each year since 2004. In 2006 the amount of cocaine seized in South Texas (16,337 kg) was nearly triple the amount seized in California (5,554 kg), which ranked second. (See Table 1.) The increase in the amount of cocaine seized in South Texas is quite likely the result of the increased control that Mexican DTOs now exercise over cocaine smuggling along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The South Texas area has ranked first among Southwest Border areas each year since 2004 in the amount of heroin seized. (See Table 1.) The amount of heroin seized in South Texas in 2006 (185 kg) surpassed the amount seized in California (154 kg) and was nearly double the amount seized in West Texas (93 kg). This total accounted for approximately one-third of the heroin seized along the Southwest Border. It appears that South Texas will remain the primary smuggling corridor for heroin shipments; Mexican black tar heroin and brown powder heroin are seized most frequently.

South Texas consistently ranked either first or second among Southwest Border areas in the amount of marijuana seized from 2004 to 2006. (See Table 1.) The amount of marijuana seizures in South Texas increased 37 percent from 2005 (264,788 kg) to 2006 (361,494 kg), and South Texas ranks behind only Arizona in the amount of marijuana seized.

Methamphetamine is increasingly smuggled across the South Texas border despite a decrease in seizures during the past year. Area law enforcement officials report that ice methamphetamine is now the predominant type of the drug seized in the South Texas HIDTA border area. South Texas methamphetamine seizures increased significantly from 2003 (379 kg) to 2005 (926 kg). This amount ranked second only to California (1,113 kg) in the amount of methamphetamine seized in 2005. (See Table 1.)

To Top      To Contents

Distribution

After drug shipments have been smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border into South Texas, they are often stashed at locations along the border or immediately transported to interior stash locations. Stash houses are located in Laredo, Roma, Rio Grande City, Brownsville, and other communities along the border. For example, in November 2006 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents discovered over 17,000 pounds of marijuana hidden in an underground bunker at a residence in Rio Grande City. Traffickers consolidate smaller drug shipments into larger quantities at these locations and then transport bulk quantities of drugs to cities such as Corpus Christi, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. Avoiding law enforcement while transporting drug shipments from the border area to the interior of the United States is particularly challenging for DTOs. Transportation costs vary depending on the service required. Some transportation organizations charge flat fees on a per-load basis, while others charge per-pound fees. Transportation fees typically increase once drug shipments have been smuggled across the U.S.-Mexico border, again after they have been transported through checkpoints, and once again when they are transported to U.S. drug markets.

Drug-Related Crime

The continued use of the South Texas HIDTA border area as a primary smuggling corridor often results in high levels of drug-related violence. Much of the violence can be attributed to the battle between the Gulf Cartel and The Alliance for control of lucrative smuggling routes in South Texas. Murders in Nuevo Laredo remained relatively stable from 2005 (182) to 2006 (178); however, the number of murders committed in 2005 was the highest in 10 years. Moreover, law enforcement officials in Laredo report 27 murders in 2005 and 24 in 2006. Although no single cause has been identified in most of these cases, officials believe that most were drug-related. The level of violence may increase as a result of the extradition of Osiel Cardenas-Guillen and renewed efforts by The Alliance to gain control of the lucrative Nuevo Laredo plaza.³ While much of the violence has been concentrated in Laredo/Nuevo Laredo, areas along the entire U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas have experienced drug-related crime and violence associated with this conflict, including areas throughout the Rio Grande Valley, particularly in Starr and Hidalgo Counties, where drug-related extortion, kidnappings, and homicides have been documented.

Drug-related border violence is also directed at law enforcement officers. Assaults against U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agents and sheriffs' deputies in the South Texas HIDTA border area have increased. Law enforcement officers in the region have been fired upon while patrolling areas along the Rio Grande River. Encounters with heavily armed drug traffickers are also common. Drug traffickers wearing military-style clothing and carrying military-grade weapons, including assault rifles, pose a serious threat to law enforcement officers along the border. Large caches of firearms, grenades, and improvised explosive devices used by drug traffickers have been seized along the border in the past year. Increased border security measures in South Texas, including the deployment of National Guard troops as part of Operation Jump Start⁴ and additional USBP resources, will most likely result in more assaults against law enforcement officers along the border.

Abuse

Illicit drug abuse along the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas takes place primarily in the larger population centers of Laredo and those located throughout the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Marijuana remains the most readily available and abused drug throughout the border area and was responsible for a high number of treatment admissions in Webb County, where it ranked second to powder cocaine, and Cameron and Hidalgo Counties, where it ranked first. These areas also experience powder cocaine, crack cocaine, and heroin abuse problems. Drug treatment providers report that methamphetamine abuse has increased but remains relatively low compared with abuse rates of other illicit drugs. Methamphetamine abuse may increase further as the amount of methamphetamine smuggled through South Texas increases.

Illicit Finance

Mexican DTOs bulk-transport most illicit drug proceeds through the South Texas HIDTA region. Illicit drug proceeds from across the United States are transported to and through the area en route to Mexico. Often the same vehicles and routes that are used to transport illicit drug shipments from the border area to drug markets throughout the central and eastern United States are used to return illicit drug proceeds to the border area. Traffickers often conceal bulk cash shipments in hidden compartments in dashboards, door panels, car batteries, and gas tanks in private and commercial vehicles to smuggle them across the border into Mexico. Detection of southbound cash shipments is difficult because of the high volume of cross-border traffic and limited U.S. outbound inspection resources located at POEs. Once smuggled across the border into Mexico, illicit drug proceeds are often placed into the Mexican banking system. From there the proceeds may be repatriated to the United States, used to pay for operational expenses in Mexico, or sent to other source countries in Latin America.

The use of money transmitters is another method that Mexican DTOs use to launder illicit drug proceeds through South Texas. Money transmitters are an attractive and effective means of laundering illicit drug proceeds. This method enables traffickers to electronically, and often anonymously, move drug proceeds to the border area for consolidation prior to their movement into Mexico; the communities of Benita, Brownsville, Harlingen, Hidalgo, McAllen, Rio Grande City, and Roma are major South Texas destinations for transmitted funds. After arriving in the border areas, the funds are collected, consolidated, and bulk-shipped to Mexico for repatriation, after which traffickers often smuggle them back into the United States through a variety of methods, including electronic wire transfers and bulk cash shipments.

Drug traffickers operating in the South Texas HIDTA region also use casas de cambio to launder drug proceeds. Casas de cambio are money exchange facilities specializing in Latin American currencies and transactions; however, some casas de cambio function solely for money laundering purposes. These businesses are typically unregistered, are noncompliant with Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) reporting requirements, and often operate from temporary locations such as vehicles, telephone booths, and trailers. Although these facilities must follow BSA requirements, they often combine funds from multiple individuals into a single transaction in the name of the facility. This act hides the true identities of the funds' originators and often hinders subsequent financial investigations.

To Top      To Contents

San Antonio Market Area

Overview

San Antonio has emerged as a key transshipment point for drug shipments originating in Mexico destined for U.S. drug markets. The city's location in South Texas, at the convergence of several major drug transportation corridors, has solidified San Antonio's role as a key transshipment point. Shipments of cocaine, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine are often transported by Mexican DTOs to San Antonio, stored at stash locations throughout the city, and then shipped to drug markets in the eastern and central United States, notably Atlanta and Chicago. Some peel-off local distribution takes place, causing significant abuse concerns among law enforcement officers and treatment providers.

Production

San Antonio is the primary crack cocaine conversion area and distribution center in South Texas. Crack cocaine traffickers in San Antonio supply retail distributors and drug abusers throughout the South Texas HIDTA region. Local crack distributors either travel to Houston to purchase powder cocaine or purchase the drug directly from Mexican DTOs in the San Antonio area, where it is considerably cheaper.

Methamphetamine is produced in San Antonio, but methamphetamine production has decreased over the past year. During 2004 and 2005, San Antonio experienced an increase in local methamphetamine production, but that trend appears to have reversed. According to statistical data from the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD), 25 methamphetamine laboratories were seized by its officers in 2006, compared with 34 in 2005. According to National Clandestine Laboratory Seizure System (NCLSS) statistics, Bexar County, where San Antonio is located, is the only South Texas HIDTA county to report a methamphetamine laboratory seizure during the past 3 years. Law enforcement officials attribute the decrease in local methamphetamine production and laboratory seizures to recently enacted legislation that restricts access to pseudoephedrine. The increased availability of Mexican ice methamphetamine is also a contributing factor in the decrease of local methamphetamine production; Mexican ice methamphetamine has replaced locally produced methamphetamine as the predominant form of the drug trafficked in San Antonio. (See Table 2.)

Table 2. Number of Methamphetamine Laboratory Seizures in the South Texas HIDTA, 2004-2006

Source: National Clandestine Laboratory Seizure System,* run date 01/31/07.
*NCLSS is a voluntary seizure reporting system and may not reflect all laboratory seizures.

Transportation

San Antonio's proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border and its location at the convergence of major domestic smuggling routes have transformed the city into a key transportation center for illicit drugs. DTOs operating in the San Antonio area typically specialize in drug transportation and operate networks between the border area and San Antonio.

Several interstates and U.S. highways converge in San Antonio and provide access to the city from most areas along the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas. Interstate 35 connects San Antonio to the U.S.-Mexico border at Laredo. Interstate 37 runs between San Antonio and Corpus Christi and intersects US 281 and US 77, which extend to the border at Hidalgo and Brownsville, respectively. San Antonio is also connected to Del Rio and Eagle Pass by way of US 90 and US 57, respectively. Mexican DTOs and other drug traffickers continue to exploit the high volume of private and commercial traffic on these highways to transport illicit drugs from the border area to San Antonio. Multihundred- to multithousand-pound shipments of illicit drugs are transported to San Antonio; some are siphoned for local distribution, but most are destined for other U.S. drug markets.

Distribution

Several Mexican DTOs have recently relocated from the South Texas border area to San Antonio, facilitating the development of San Antonio as a national-level transshipment point for cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin. Drug traffickers are also establishing numerous stash locations in the San Antonio area from which they can distribute wholesale quantities of illicit drugs throughout the country, particularly to central and eastern U.S. markets.

The Mexikanemi prison gang, which is based in San Antonio, controls a significant portion of wholesale and midlevel drug distribution in the city. The gang supplies many local street gangs in San Antonio and operates its own extensive retail distribution network. After selling illicit drugs to local gangs, Mexikanemi then collects a 10 percent "street tax" on the profits generated by the sale of these drugs. Mexikanemi operates throughout Texas and is actively recruiting members from small communities around San Antonio and throughout South Texas. Mexikanemi members have a propensity for violence and have been linked to numerous assaults, murders, and shootings.

Drug-Related Crime

The distribution and abuse of illicit drugs contribute to high levels of property crime and violence that occur in San Antonio. Cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine are the drugs most associated with property crime and violence in San Antonio. Cocaine and methamphetamine distributors and abusers commit a variety of violent crimes, including assault and murder; heroin and methamphetamine abusers frequently commit property crimes.

Drug-related arrests continue to increase in San Antonio. Arrests associated with all major drugs of abuse increased significantly from 2005 to 2006, according to the SAPD. Marijuana-related arrests increased 16.9 percent, heroin-related arrests increased 7.7 percent, cocaine-related arrests increased 35.4 percent, and methamphetamine-related arrests increased 35.6 percent. (See Table 3.)

Table 3. Number of Drug-Related Arrests in San Antonio, 2005-2006

Source: San Antonio Police Department.
*Includes felony and misdemeanor arrests.

Abuse

Drug-related treatment admissions in San Antonio increased 76 percent from 2002 to 2005, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS). Of particular note are amphetamine/methamphetamine-related treatment admissions, which more than tripled between 2002 (91 admissions) and 2005 (306 admissions); 2005 is the latest year for which data are available. Increasing methamphetamine abuse rates are quite likely the result of the increased availability of Mexican ice methamphetamine in San Antonio.

Illicit Finance

Bulk cash smuggling is the primary method used by traffickers to launder funds generated from illicit drug sales in San Antonio; traffickers also bulk-transport funds derived from drug sales in other U.S. markets, particularly from the midwestern, southeastern, and northeastern United States, through San Antonio en route to Mexico. Bulk cash shipments from the U.S. Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast regularly transit the city destined for repatriation in Mexico. Moreover, in the past year, local law enforcement officers have reported that San Antonio has become a consolidation point for bulk currency shipments from other regions of the country. Traffickers transport smaller bulk currency shipments to San Antonio, where they are consolidated at stash locations into larger quantities for shipment into Mexico.

End Notes

3. Plazas refer to specific cities or geographic locations that are used to smuggle illicit drugs from Mexico into the United States.
4. Operation Jump Start involves the deployment of National Guard troops to the Southwest Border to provide support to the U.S. Border Patrol. The National Guard troops perform support functions and do not have arrest authority.

To Top      To Contents     To Previous Page     To Next Page

To Publications Page     To Home Page