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| 8 March 2000 - The San Diego Union-Tribune House panel seeks ways to keep Baja crime from spilling into S.D. By Anna Cearley A week after the assassination of Tijuana police chief Alfredo de la Torre Marquez, a congressional subcommittee took testimony from representatives of area agencies on ways to prevent Baja California's drug-related crime from spilling into San Diego County. While investigators haven't linked de la Torre's killing to the drug trade, his death has reinforced Tijuana's image as a lawless stronghold for drug and smuggling cartels. U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice Drug Policy and Human Resources, said during a break in the hearing, held at the U.S. Coast Guard Station on Harbor Drive, that "the situation is out of control on their side of the border." Mexico "is corrupt from the bottom to the top," he said. While acknowledging that Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo appears to be honest, Mica did not dismiss the possibility that the drug trade has infiltrated Mexico's highest office. "Nothing could surprise me," said Mica, who said he based his opinion on information collected in public and closed-door meetings. Ten San Diego politicians and law enforcement officials told the congressmen that Mexico's increasing violence is of growing concern here, because they see Tijuana and San Diego as one overlapping region. "The violence of drug activities is not far away from me," said U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Imperial Beach. "The brutal assassination (of de la Torre) happened just a few kilometers from where my family lives… This is something happening in our community, not somewhere else." Mica and U.S. Rep. Mark Souder, R-Indiana, spent more than three hours listening to the local officials report on how the drug trade is draining their resources, and on what programs seem to be working. Bilbray requested last fall that the subcommittee hold a hearing in San Diego. It was coincidental that the meeting was held so soon after the police chief was slain, aides said. Dianne Jacob, San Diego County Supervisor, talked about the successes of the countywide Methamphetamine Strike Force, formed out of the coordinated efforts of 70 agencies in 1997 to combat growing use of the drug. The number of methamphetamine-related deaths in the county has dropped by 30 percent, Jacob said. She attributed the decrease to such efforts as drafting legislation to limit sales of products used to make methamphetamine and identifying children living in drug- manufacturing environments. But Jacob noted that the task force would also benefit from "binational relationships to develop with our Mexican officials so that we can respond to meth trends along the border." San Diego police Sgt. Scott Lee said methamphetamine cases comprise about half of all the arrests and seizures made by the Narcotic Task Force. The drug is mainly produced in Mexican labs," he said. San Diego and Los Angeles are hubs of marijuana trafficking for much of the United States, he said. Article Snapshot (39K) |
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