To
Contents
To Previous Page
To Next Page
To Publications Page
To Home Page
National Drug Intelligence
Center |
Drug production in the HIDTA region is limited because of the ready supply of drugs smuggled into the area from Mexico by Mexican traffickers. Powder methamphetamine production is negligible in West Texas as a result of a lack of demand for the drug in most areas of the HIDTA; moreover, available supplies of Mexican methamphetamine satiate local demand. According to the El Paso Intelligence Center (EPIC) National Seizure System (NSS), only three methamphetamine (powder) laboratories were seized from 2005 through 2007; all were located in El Paso County. Only small amounts of methamphetamine were produced at seized laboratories, and most of the drug was intended for personal use by the laboratory operators or distribution in small networks.
Cannabis cultivation, both indoor and outdoor, is limited in the West Texas HIDTA region as a result of the wide availability of Mexican marijuana. Indoor cannabis grows are virtually nonexistent in the region. The terrain in West Texas is not conducive to outdoor cannabis cultivation, except along the Rio Grande River in Big Bend National Park. Large outdoor cannabis grows have previously been seized in Big Bend National Park; however, no large grows have been seized there since 2003.
Mexican DTOs smuggle multiton shipments of marijuana and multikilogram quantities of cocaine into the West Texas HIDTA region for transshipment to drug markets throughout the United States; some is distributed in the region. Mexican DTOs also smuggle heroin and methamphetamine into and through the area, but to a much lesser extent. Marijuana, methamphetamine, and heroin are generally transported from production sites in Mexico to warehouses and stash houses on the Mexico side of the U.S.-Mexico Border for staging prior to being smuggled into the United States. Cocaine, which is obtained by Mexican DTOs from Colombian DTOs in South America, is transported through Mexico to these same staging areas. The Mexican DTOs that transport illicit drugs to staging areas in Mexico typically contract with other Mexican organizations to transport the drugs from the staging areas into the West Texas HIDTA region, where the drugs typically are consolidated and stored in stash houses for later transportation to drug markets throughout the United States. Mexican DTOs commonly employ independent transportation brokers to facilitate the movement of drug shipments across the U.S.-Mexico border as well as into and through the West Texas HIDTA region. These brokers help to further insulate DTOs from law enforcement.
Gatekeepers6 regulate the drug flow from Mexico across the U.S.-Mexico border into the United States by controlling drug smugglers' access to areas along the border. Gatekeepers collect "taxes" from smugglers on all illicit shipments, including drugs and illegal aliens, moved through these areas. The taxes are generally paid to the DTO that controls the area; the DTO then launders the tax proceeds. Gatekeepers sometimes resort to extortion, intimidation, and acts of violence to collect taxes from smugglers. Gatekeepers also reportedly bribe corrupt Mexican police and military personnel in order to ensure that smuggling activities can proceed without interruption.
The West Texas HIDTA's geographic location, large amount of cross-border traffic, and highway infrastructure make it a significant entry point for drugs along the Southwest Border. The West Texas HIDTA region is located in the center of the Southwest Border, making it accessible to eastern and western markets through its highway infrastructure. Further, the El Paso POE, the second-busiest for commercial traffic (next to Laredo), is located in the HIDTA region. The other two POEs located in the HIDTA, Fabens and Presidio, add to the amount of cross-border traffic. Additionally, the geographic layout of highways and checkpoints gives traffickers more options to move their drug shipments undetected, unlike some other areas of the border. For example, the Kingsville/Sarita checkpoint on U.S. Highway 77 and the Falfurrias checkpoint on U.S. Highway 281 in south Texas are strategically located to funnel all northbound traffic entering the United States from approximately Roma to Brownsville, making it difficult for traffickers to bypass these checkpoints. Conversely, the Sierra Blanca checkpoint on I-10 in the HIDTA is less effective at funneling drug shipments coming across the border to one area, giving traffickers numerous other possible routes to transport their shipments.
La Entrada al Pacifico, a trade route currently under construction in Mexico, most likely will not be finished by its projected completion date of 2010.7 (See Figure 2.) The Mexican Government has switched its emphasis to a new border road project that would construct a highway from Presidio to Del Rio as well as all along Mexico's northern border. Construction of this roadway will give DTOs better access to long stretches of the border where currently there are only rough or nonexistent roads.
Figure 2. La Entrada al Pacifico.
Mexican DTOs also transport illicit drugs, primarily marijuana, between POEs, particularly in the eastern portion of the West Texas HIDTA region. Drug traffickers take advantage of the sparse population, relatively open border, and rugged terrain to conceal their drug smuggling activities. Couriers smuggle significant quantities of illicit drugs into the area at numerous low-water crossings, using vehicles, horses, and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). They also cross on foot. The number and remoteness of the crossings make it difficult for law enforcement agencies to effectively monitor these activities.
Big Bend National Park, which shares a 118-mile-long border with Mexico, is vulnerable to drug and alien smuggling. As with other areas between POEs along the U.S.-Mexico border in West Texas, limited law enforcement presence and rugged terrain make the park conducive to smuggling activities. National Park Service officials report that Mexican DTOs commonly transport large shipments of drugs, primarily marijuana, through the park. In 2002 U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) closed the Boquillas crossing in Big Bend National Park. Currently, no official POEs exist along the park's border with Mexico; however, many areas along the Rio Grande River are routinely traversed by traffickers and illegal aliens. Smuggling activities in this area also pose a potential threat to park visitors, particularly those who inadvertently encounter a smuggling operation in progress.
In addition to overland smuggling, Mexican DTOs use private aircraft to smuggle illicit drugs into the area, but to a much lesser extent than land conveyance methods. The financial resources of Mexican DTOs and their ability to adapt their trafficking operations to avoid law enforcement detection render this mode of transportation a potentially significant vulnerability for the West Texas HIDTA region. Dirt roads, dry lake beds, and other flat terrain on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border are particularly useful to traffickers as makeshift landing strips. Traffickers use makeshift strips in northern Mexico to offload and store illicit drugs near the border pending transportation into the region; they also use strips on the U.S. side of the border to fly directly into the HIDTA region, employing low-level flights to avoid radar detection.8
To Top To Contents To Previous Page To Next Page
To Publications Page To Home Page
End of page.
