U.S. TARGETS TOP CRIMINALS, DRUG CZAR SAYS

The Bush administration has declared war on and is going after the "Fortune
500 players of the drug trade in the United States," U.S. drug czar John P.
Walters said Wednesday in El Paso.

"We're going to identify and target them, and put them out of business," he
said, adding that going after the "super criminals" was effective in
disrupting the Cali and Medellin drug cartels in Colombia. "Today, they
(cartel leaders) are dead or in jail."

It is the top layer of a drug organization's leadership "that poses the
greatest danger to governments," he said.

It was Walters' first visit to the El Paso border region as drug czar. He
was sworn in Dec. 7 after President Bush named him to the post. He served
previously in the Office of National Drug Control Policy under former U.S.
drug czar William Bennett.

During Wednesday's visit, Walters toured the Bridge of the Americas, flew
over the region by helicopter and received a briefing on counter- drug
intelligence efforts at the El Paso Intelligence Center at Biggs Army
Airfield. EPIC is staffed by 15 federal agencies that receive, analyze and
distribute drug intelligence.

Walters said the White House has set as its goals reducing "the use of
illegal drugs in the United States by 10 percent over two years, and 25
percent over five years."

At the bridge, he saw the X-ray machines and density meters used to find
hidden compartments in commercial trucks. Officials also displayed a gas
tank, a drive shaft and a few chests of drawers, all with compartments that
were used to hide drugs.

Walters was scheduled to fly later Wednesday to Mexico City, where he will
meet with Mexican health and law enforcement officials.

"Our cargo-inspection techniques were the primary focus of our presentation
for (Walters) at the bridge," said P.T. Wright, field operations director
of the U.S. Customs Service, West Texas-New Mexico district. "He will see
some of the same things we showed President Bush and Homeland Security
Director Tom Ridge during their visits to El Paso."

"The drug czar's visit reinforces the role that El Paso plays on the border
in regards to addressing anti-terrorism efforts since September 11th, and
in the continued threat of drug trafficking," Wright said.

U.S. Customs Service officials said the agency has posted record seizures
of heroin, marijuana and cocaine this year. "In El Paso, our U.S. Customs
officers have seized 25.2 percent of all the marijuana seized by U.S.
Customs in the country," Wright said.

Walters talked briefly about the new role of law enforcement agencies in
focusing on terrorism.

"If you compare the threat posed by terror, which we've had a brutal
education in, a small number of people, a small amount of money, small
amounts of various kinds of substances can be used to cause devastating
destruction," he said.

"Compared to that, drugs, while a difficult target, are thousands of tons
of product, tens of thousands of individuals, thousands of tons of money
and millions of retail customer sales," he said. "Compared to terror, it's
a gigantic target."

The Office of National Drug Control Policy has created ads linking drugs
and terrorism that Walters said are designed to discourage casual drug use.
One such ad features a young woman who states: "On Wednesday, I played
tennis, went shoe shopping, and helped smuggle a load of AK-47s into Colombia.

A narrator says, "Drug money helps support terror. Buy drugs and you could
be supporting it, too."

"We are going to vigorously attack the non-addicted, casual user," who is
the main vehicle responsible for getting others to try drugs, Walters said.

People must be educated, in schools, offices, families, churches and
hospitals, so that they can identify the signs of drug use and confront
individuals they think are involved, he said.

Walters also said U.S. law enforcement officials estimate that law officers
intercept 36 percent of cocaine headed to the United States from South
America. He explained that the other 64 percent is getting through, because
"we haven't covered all the (drug trade) routes" yet.

He would not comment on specific Mexican drug organizations, such as the
Juarez drug cartel. He also would not say whether U.S. policy- makers are
considering giving DEA agents the authority to investigate drug-related
homicides and kidnappings. With the FBI being directed to scale back on
drug investigations to spend more time and resources on terrorism, some
lawmakers and others wonder how the void will be filled.

By statute, DEA agents are limited to investigating drug-trafficking and
money-laundering violations, while the FBI may investigate violent crimes
associated with drug smuggling.