Washington - Close to 10,000 tonnes of illegal drugs make it
to the United States from Mexico each year, according to the US
Government Accountability Office (GAO).
In a 46-page report released to the public Thursday, GAO estimated
that 9,400 tonnes of marijuana, 275 tonnes of cocaine and 19 tonnes
of heroin cross the Mexican border into the United States each year,
according to estimates by the GAO, the investigative arm of US
Congress.
It said Mexico serves as the major conduit for South American
illegal drugs, trans-shipping two-thirds of the the continent's US-
bound cocaine in 2000 and 90 per cent in 2004 and 2005.
The agency noted that there are no figures on methamphetamines,
but the amount of such drugs seized annually has increased five-fold
between 2000 and 2006, from 500 kilogrammes to 2,700 kilogrammes,
indicating 'a dramatic rise in supply.'
Controls worked to help the authorities seize 2,900 tonnes of
marijuana, 36 tonnes of cocaine and 1 tonne of heroine.
According to the report, Mexican authorities have improved in the
fight against drug trafficking, although there remains room for
improvement in cooperation.
'Corruption persists within the Mexican government and challenges
Mexico's efforts to curb drug production and trafficking,' the
document says. 'Moreover, Mexican drug trafficking organizations
operate with relative impunity along the US border and in other parts
of Mexico, and have expanded their illicit business to almost every
region of the United States.'
Since 2000, the United States invested 397 million dollars to
support Mexico's anti-narcotics efforts, leading to an increase in
the number of extraditions, to the training of many Mexican agents by
US experts in the US, and to a strengthening of controls over
chemicals to produce methamphetamines.
The report, however, criticizes that US law enforcement officers
cannot 'board Mexican-flagged vessels suspected of transporting
illicit drugs on the high seas,' that aerial monitoring on the border
was suspended, that Vietnam-era helicopters used are 'expensive and
difficult to maintain' and that a border surveillance programme was
cut short for lack of funds.
The GAO report was made public shortly before the announcement of
a much-anticipated plan for anti-narcotics cooperation between the
United States and Mexico.
Presidents George W Bush, of the United States, and Felipe
Calderon, of Mexico, discussed the matter at the North American
Leaders Summit last month in Canada and lower-level talks are
ongoing, although no further details have been revealed.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
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