FBIS4-57322
"drlat096_c_94002"
FBIS-LAT-94-096
Daily Report
16 May 1994
MEXICO
Report Assesses Illegal Drug Business
Report Assesses Illegal Drug Business
PA1705184494 Mexico City LA JORNADA in Spanish 16 May 94 pp
46, 60
PA1705184494
Mexico City LA JORNADA
Spanish
BFN
[Article by correspondents Salvador Guerrero Chipres and
Jesus Aranda and ``special correspondent'' Aurelio Garibay]
[Text] Tijuana, Baja California, 15 May -- According to
estimates made public by the Attorney General's Office (PGR),
drug trafficking groups operating in Mexico will receive gross
revenues totalling about $30 billion this year -- an amount that
represents one-sixth of the value of annual cocaine consumption
in the United States.
According to a confidential report prepared by the PGR and
obtained by LA JORNADA, the annual drug market in the United
States has expanded from $76 billion to $181 billion. Even the
U.S. Senate narcotics subcommittee has reported that nearly $100
billion originating from drug trafficking is held in U.S. banks.
According to the PGR, "the value of the world's illegal drug
market is estimated at close to $500 billion," making it the
underground financial sector with "the highest growth rate in
the world."
Based on figures and documents prepared by the PGR, which
have been reported to the president of the republic, and based
on forecasts prepared by organizations such as the Hemispheric
Information System for Narcotics Control (SHICD), which is "an
intelligence network" designed to fight drug trafficking on the
continent, it has been established that Mexico's crude oil and
non- crude oil export revenues, in addition to the overall value
of the nation's manufacturing industry, represent "an amount
comparable" to the total gross revenues earned by domestic drug
trafficking.
However, the portion of these revenues that remains in
Mexico
"is unknown, although most of it is thought to go overseas."
The previously mentioned amount is equivalent to four times
the value of 1993 crude oil exports reported by the Bank of
Mexico, which amounted to $7.418 billion.
In 1992, the federal government warned in a document
entitled
"Drug Control in Mexico" that resources controlled by narcotics
traffickers and their gross revenues are capable of infiltrating
any sector: "This calls for special attention in terms of
protecting the nation's economy and, more important, the
regional economy in order to prevent drug trafficking assets
from becoming the nerve center of economic activity."
According to the same document, so far in 1994 the total
revenues received by criminal organizations amount to nearly
four times Mexico's total public and private foreign debt.
Although significant, this amount must also be appreciated in
terms of the material and human costs associated with operations
leading to drug seizures.
One kilogram of high-grade cocaine in the U.S. retail market
can be bought for a price ranging between $80,000 and $100,000.
Nearly 178 tons of cocaine where seized and destroyed during
the first four years of this administration.
In October 1993, Morelos Governor Jorge Carrilo Olea said:
"Drug trafficking has created its own culture, its own social
structure, and its own safety controls, and, in some countries,
it constitutes an element that influences and weighs heavily on
society and the state, even threatening to subjugate them." Mr.
Carrillo was at one time in charge of the PGR's Counternarcotics
Office and also a presidential adviser specializing on drug
related issues.
He also said: "The principle of profitability and capital
return makes this phenomenon very different from other illegal
practices. This is a criminal network which, following the
pattern of an open and free market, assumes the shape of
multinational corporations with a management, organizational,
and operational structure that reflect pure business concerns."
Carrillo also pointed out that the enormous drive behind
drug
trafficking includes access to sizable financial assets and the
illegal flow of resources that penetrate the economies of
developing and consumer countries, as well as those nations that
serve as bridges. In addition, there are the widespread
international criminal organizations which "in some cases,
infiltrate and erode government structures responsible for
controlling them," such as has occurred in Mexico, according to
a public acknowledgement by PGR authorities.
The third element is the constant association between drug
trafficking and illegal weapons trafficking, "which constitutes
a formidable threat to stability and regional peace, especially
in the case of Latin America."
It is worth noting that several insurgent movements have
been
linked by various South American governments to weapons
trafficking.
Here in Mexico, according to statements by Subcommander
Marcos, the weapons used by the EZLN [Zapatista National
Liberation Army] were purchased in the black market and include
weapons seized by PGR agents from drug traffickers. The PGR has
not commented on the rebel's statements.
In October 1993, General Carrillo Olea, who is also a former
national security director, indicated: "The struggle waged by
the police and the military against organized criminal
organizations has upset society and shaken the political sector
in a very significant way. Therefore, without denying the value
of these resources, it is important to examine this carefully
and to maintain the firm resolve to restrain its progression.
The objective in this war is not to destroy the enemy, because
this is impossible. The goal is to keep the enemy under
control."
He added: "Wars against drugs trafficking expose
institutions
to ever-increasing risks of corruption. One of the most
disappointing lessons of the campaigns waged against global drug
trafficking has been to observe how institutions responsible for
implementing the law are powerless against internal corruption
campaigns staged by the drug lords. All contact with
traffickers, even as enemies, increases the possibility of
corruption."