U.S. DRUG CZAR TO VISIT BORDER

U.S. drug czar Barry McCaffrey arrives in El Paso today to cheer recent
successes in the fight against drug addiction and have closed-door briefings
with leaders of counter-narcotics agencies from California to Texas.

The director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy will begin his
two-day visit with a lengthy dinner meeting with federal agents and
prosecutors, including officials from the five Southwest High Intensity Drug
Trafficking Areas program and members of the U.S. Attorney's Office.

They're expected to discuss resources, manpower, technology and future
initiatives in the war on drugs.

"El Paso is the centerpiece of counter-drug actions on the border,"
McCaffrey said from Washington, D.C.

On the second day of his visit, McCaffrey is scheduled to meet with Mexican
officials at the home of Edward Vasquez, the U.S. consul general in Juarez.
Later Friday, he will visit a drug-treatment clinic in that city.

McCaffrey wants to stress that recent reported decreases in drug use among
children have to do with intervention that begins in homes, schools and
churches.

"We all have to be more involved," he said. "My message is that we've come a
long way but there's a lot more to do."

McCaffrey said he hopes the visit will underscore the idea that drug-abuse
problems are on both sides of the border.

Recently released figures from the Household Survey by the Office of
National Drug Control Policy report a 21 percent drop in drug use among
children ages 12-17 from 1997 to 1999. There was a 26 percent drop in
marijuana use among the same group during the same period.

Ascarate Park-area resident Susie Due=F1ez said she hopes her two children,
ages 10 and 14, remain drug-free. She agrees that most of the responsibility
starts at home and continues in the schools. She is impressed by the amount
of anti-drug information available at her children's schools, Cedar Grove
Elementary and Riverside High School.

"His (McCaffrey's) visit should have a positive impact on the children and
the community," Due=F1ez said. "It's good for El Paso because as a border
city, there's a lot of drug trafficking that goes through here."

McCaffrey's visit comes just a week after U.S. and Mexican federal
authorities announced a 46-count indictment against the alleged leader of
the Juarez drug cartel, Vicente Carrillo Fuentes. The indictment included
allegations that Carrillo Fuentes had ordered the deaths of 10 people in
Juarez.

The visit also should provide valuable information to various federal
agencies, said Brig. Gen. Dorian Anderson, commander of Joint Task Force
Six, a military counter-narcotics support agency based at Biggs Army
Airfield. Anderson said he planned to discuss the missions taken on by the
task force which benefit more than 300 law-enforcement agencies nationwide.

"The sharing of information from (McCaffrey's) perspective of our nation's
counter-drug effort is invaluable to us," he said.

McCaffrey will meet with officials from Joint Task Force Six, the El Paso
Intelligence Center, and Operation Alliance on Friday afternoon at their
Biggs offices.

The U.S. Customs Service will lead a tour of the Bridge of the Americas on
his way back from Juarez. Customs plans to show off some of its newer
technology.

Daniel Perez may be reached at dperez@elpasotimes.com