COAST GUARD: BUDGET CUTS PUT DRUG SEIZURE GOAL OUT OF REACH

WASHINGTON - The Coast Guard expects to fall short of its cocaine seizure
goals, facing money problems at a time when traffickers are increasingly
turning to the seas.

A $91 million budget deficit forced the Coast Guard in February to reduce
air and sea patrols 10 percent. The shortfall is the result of rising fuel
costs and salary increases Congress approved without providing the money to
pay for them.

Traffickers have increased the use of small- and medium-size boats to
transport cocaine from South America to Mexico, the transit point for an
estimated two-thirds of U.S.-bound cocaine.

A decade ago, planes were the main transporters of cocaine.

"We know that on a daily basis that there are smuggling events that occur
that we just can't respond to,'' said Coast Guard Capt. Jeffrey Hathaway,
executive director for the U.S. Interdiction Coordinator.

The Coast Guard reported seizing about 70 tons of an estimated 626 tons
that traffickers tried to ship to the United States last year in
"noncommercial maritime transportation'' - mainly specially built
speedboats and fishing vessels.

Those figures, for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, represent an 11 percent
interdiction rate - compared with 12 percent in 1999 and 10 percent in 1998.

It falls short of the 18.7 percent goal the Coast Guard hoped to reach by
the 2002 fiscal year, which starts in October. With the cutback in patrols,
there is little hope of reaching those targets, said Adm. James Loy, the
Coast Guard commandant.

Hathaway said he expects the interdiction rate to remain steady despite the
budget deficit because of improved intelligence and greater cooperation
among federal agencies.

The overall U.S. interdiction rate, which includes the Coast Guard figures,
was about 22 percent in the late 1990s, according to the White House drug
policy office. The 2000 rate has not been calculated.

Lawmakers have expressed concern about the Coast Guard's budget shortfall,
though they did not know whether it will be addressed before the next
fiscal year.

"We've got to get their resources and capability back to where it should be
if we're going to make a serious attempt'' to fight drugs, said Rep. John
Mica, R-Casselberry