The  goal over the years has been to disrupt the market for illegal drugs, making  it more difficult for traffickers to produce and transport illicit drugs to the  United States. Illicit Drug Production and Trafficking by Mexican Drug Organizations Have Continued Virtually Unabated

Mexico is the conduit for most of the cocaine reaching the United States,  the source for much of the heroin consumed in the United States, and the  largest foreign supplier of marijuana and methamphetamine to the U.S.  market. In  addition, although reported seizures of these drugs within Mexico and  along the U.S. southwest border generally increased, according to the U.S.  interagency counternarcotics community, seizures have been a relatively  small percentage of the estimated supply. Based on the available data, the following  describes the trends since 2000 on the amount of cocaine arriving in  Mexico for transshipment to the United States; the amounts of heroin and  marijuana produced in Mexico; and reported seizures of these illicit drugs  and methamphetamine in Mexico and along the U.S.-Mexico border. Using the midpoint of the IACM ranges, the amount of cocaine  estimated arriving in Mexico during 2000-2006 averaged about 290 metric  tons per year. Heroin: During 2000-2005, the estimated amount of heroin produced for  export in Mexico averaged almost 19 metric tons a year—ranging from a  low of 9 metric tons in 2000 to a high of 30 metric tons in 2003. Reported heroin seizures in Mexico and along the U.S.- Mexico border averaged less than 1 metric ton or less than 5 percent a  year of the estimated export quality heroin produced in Mexico between  2000 and 2005. On the basis of the  reported data, seizures along the U.S.-Mexico border rose more than  five times—from an estimated 500 kilograms in 2000 to almost 2,900  metric tons in 2004 and over 2,700 kilograms in 2006. Since then State has reported on the Mexican government’s  efforts to reduce corruption. Since 2000, Mexico has undertaken several initiatives to address  corruption. Mexican DTOs Control Drug Trafficking in Mexico and Have Extended Their Reach into the United States

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), four main  DTOs control the illicit drug production and trafficking in Mexico and  operate with relative impunity in certain parts of the country:    The Federation, which operates from the Mexican state of Sinaloa, is an  alliance of drug traffickers that U.S. and Mexican officials told us may  have the most extensive geographic reach in Mexico. U.S. Support for Mexican Interdiction Efforts Has Helped, but Improvements Are Needed

The fourth strategy under the embassy’s counternarcotics goal is to  support Mexican efforts to interdict illicit drugs. However, the United States and Mexico have not agreed to a bilateral  maritime cooperation agreement that would allow U.S. law enforcement  personnel to board and search Mexican-flagged vessels on the high seas  suspected of trafficking illicit drugs without asking the government of  Mexico for authority to board on a case-by-case basis. However, according to State officials,  due to funding limitations and changed priorities, NAS capped the number  at 12. Southwest Border Strategy’s Implementation Plan

In March 2006, ONDCP, in conjunction with the National Security Council  and other agencies involved in the U.S. interagency counternarcotics  community, developed a Southwest Border Strategy to help reduce the  flow of illicit drugs entering the United States across the southwest border  with Mexico. Conclusions

U.S. counternarcotics assistance to Mexico since 2000 has helped Mexico  strengthen its law enforcement institutions and capacity to combat illicit  drug production and trafficking.
Why GAO Did This Study

The overall goal of the U.S. National Drug Control Strategy, which is prepared by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), is to reduce illicit drug use in the United States. One of the strategy's priorities is to disrupt the illicit drug marketplace. To this end, since fiscal year 2000, the United States has provided about $397 million to support Mexican counternarcotics efforts. According to the Department of State (State), much of the illicit drugs consumed in the United States flows through or is produced in Mexico. GAO examined (1) trends in Mexican drug production and trafficking since calendar year 2000 and (2) U.S. counternarcotics support for Mexico since fiscal year 2000. This testimony is based on a recently issued report (GAO-07-1018) that addresses these issues.

What GAO Found

According to the U.S. interagency counternarcotics community, hundreds of tons of illicit drugs flow from Mexico into the United States each year, and seizures in Mexico and along the U.S. border have been relatively small in recent years. The following illustrates some trends since 2000: (1) The estimated amount of cocaine arriving in Mexico for transshipment to the United States averaged about 290 metric tons per year. Reported seizures averaged about 36 metric tons a year. (2) The estimated amount of export quality heroin and marijuana produced in Mexico averaged almost 19 metric tons and 9,400 metric tons per year, respectively. Reported heroin seizures averaged less than 1 metric ton and reported marijuana seizures averaged about 2,900 metric tons a year. (3) Although an estimate of the amount of methamphetamine manufactured in Mexico is not prepared, reported seizures along the U.S. border rose from about 500 kilograms in 2000 to highs of about 2,800 kilograms in 2005 and about 2,700 kilograms in 2006. According to U.S. officials, this more than fivefold increase indicated a dramatic rise in supply. In addition, according to State, corruption persists within the Mexican government and challenges Mexico's efforts to curb drug production and trafficking. Moreover, Mexican drug trafficking organizations operate with relative impunity along the U.S. border and in other parts of Mexico, and have expanded their illicit business to almost every region of the United States. U.S. assistance since fiscal year 2000 has helped Mexico strengthen its capacity to combat illicit drug production and trafficking. Among other things, extraditions of criminals to the United States increased; thousands of Mexican law enforcement personnel were trained; and controls over chemicals to produce methamphetamine were strengthened. Nevertheless, cooperation with Mexico can be improved. The two countries do not have an agreement permitting U.S. law enforcement officers to board Mexican-flagged vessels suspected of transporting illicit drugs on the high seas; an aerial monitoring program along the U.S. border was suspended because certain personnel status issues could not be agreed on; State-provided Vietnam-era helicopters have proved expensive and difficult to maintain and many are not available for operations; and a State-supported border surveillance program was cut short due to limited funding and changed priorities. In 2006, in response to a congressional mandate, ONDCP and other agencies involved in U.S. counternarcotics efforts developed a strategy to help reduce the illicit drugs entering the United States from Mexico. An implementation plan was prepared but is being revised to address certain initiatives recently undertaken by Mexico. Based on our review of the plan, some proposals require the cooperation of Mexico; but, according to ONDCP, they had not been addressed with Mexican authorities at the time of our review.