[House Hearing, 115 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
A DANGEROUS AND SOPHISTICATED ADVERSARY: THE THREAT TO THE HOMELAND
POSED BY CARTEL OPERATIONS
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
BORDER AND
MARITIME SECURITY
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
FEBRUARY 16, 2017
__________
Serial No. 115-4
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
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Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
Michael T. McCaul, Texas, Chairman
Lamar Smith, Texas Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi
Peter T. King, New York Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas
Mike Rogers, Alabama James R. Langevin, Rhode Island
Jeff Duncan, South Carolina Cedric L. Richmond, Louisiana
Tom Marino, Pennsylvania William R. Keating, Massachusetts
Lou Barletta, Pennsylvania Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey
Scott Perry, Pennsylvania Filemon Vela, Texas
John Katko, New York Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey
Will Hurd, Texas Kathleen M. Rice, New York
Martha McSally, Arizona J. Luis Correa, California
John Ratcliffe, Texas Val Butler Demings, Florida
Daniel M. Donovan, Jr., New York Nanette Diaz Barragan, California
Mike Gallagher, Wisconsin
Clay Higgins, Louisiana
John H. Rutherford, Florida
Thomas A. Garrett, Jr., Virginia
Brian K. Fitzpatrick, Pennsylvania
Brendan P. Shields, Staff Director
Joan V. O'Hara, General Counsel
Michael S. Twinchek, Chief Clerk
Hope Goins, Minority Staff Director
------
SUBCOMMITTEE ON BORDER AND MARITIME SECURITY
Martha McSally, Arizona, Chairwoman
Lamar Smith, Texas Filemon Vela, Texas
Mike Rogers, Alabama Cedric L. Richmond, Louisiana
Jeff Duncan, South Carolina J. Luis Correa, California
Lou Barletta, Pennsylvania Val Butler Demings, Florida
Will Hurd, Texas Nanette Diaz Barragan, California
John H. Rutherford, Florida Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi
Michael T. McCaul, Texas (ex (ex officio)
officio)
Paul L. Anstine, Subcommittee Staff Director
Alison Northrop, Minority Subcommittee Staff Director/Counsel
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Statements
The Honorable Martha McSally, a Representative in Congress From
the State of Arizona, and Chairwoman, Subcommittee on Border
and Maritime Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 1
Prepared Statement............................................. 3
The Honorable Filemon Vela, a Representative in Congress From the
State of Texas, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Border and
Maritime Security.............................................. 4
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress
From the State of Mississippi, and Ranking Member, Committee on
Homeland Security:
Prepared Statement............................................. 6
Witnesses
Vice Admiral Charles W. Ray, Deputy Commandant for Operations,
U.S. Coast Guard:
Oral Statement................................................. 7
Prepared Statement............................................. 9
Chief Paul A. Beeson, Commander, Joint Task Force--West, Arizona,
U.S. Department of Homeland Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 12
Prepared Statement............................................. 13
Mr. Matthew C. Allen, Assistant Director for HSI Investigative
Programs, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security:
Oral Statement................................................. 28
Prepared Statement............................................. 30
Mr. Luis E. Arreaga, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau
of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, U.S.
Department of State:
Oral Statement................................................. 35
Prepared Statement............................................. 37
For the Record
The Honorable John Katko, a Representative in Congress From the
State of New York:
Article, The Daily Beast....................................... 54
Article, Daily Caller.......................................... 56
A DANGEROUS AND SOPHISTICATED ADVERSARY: THE THREAT TO THE HOMELAND
POSED BY CARTEL OPERATIONS
----------
Thursday, February 16, 2017
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Homeland Security,
Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:19 a.m., in
room HVC-210, Capitol Visitors Center, Hon. Martha McSally
[Chairwoman of the subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives McSally, Rogers, Duncan, Hurd,
Rutherford, Vela, Correa, Demings, and Barragan.
Also present: Representatives Katko and Jackson Lee.
Ms. McSally. The Committee on Homeland Security,
Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security will come to
order. Let me first apologize for being a little bit late. We
need to clone ourselves around here. I was in an Armed Services
Committee hearing, very important on the F-35 and the way ahead
for our troops, so appreciate your patience.
The subcommittee is meeting today to examine the threat
posed by drug cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
I will recognize myself for an opening statement.
First, I would like to welcome the newest Member of our
subcommittee, the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Rutherford.
Welcome. I look forward to working with you and other new
Members of the committee.
As we begin the 115th Congress, let me be clear from the
outset. I hope, over the course of this Congress, we can engage
in thoughtful and productive conversations that lead to
legislation and partnerships that will help secure our
homeland.
One of my goals this year as Chair of the subcommittee is
to drill down on the threat that an unsecured border poses to
our fellow Americans, which will be the focus of our
conversation today. At our next hearing, we will hear from
leaders of the Border Security Joint Task Forces, authorized by
this committee last Congress, to examine the Nation's counter-
network approach to combatting this threat.
Protecting our borders is a multi-faceted effort. The job
of securing the land border falls primarily to U.S. Border
Patrol, while the job of the U.S. Coast Guard is to secure our
maritime border.
We do have Office of Field Operations, an important role of
securing more than 300 ports of entry, and Air and Marine
Operations carries out air and marine maritime environment
activities and admissions to detect and interdict unlawful
people and cargo approaching our borders.
Finally, HSI, Homeland Security Investigations, supports
National security through its investigatory authorities and
responsibilities.
These are not simple or easy tasks. The Southwest Border is
a dynamic place with sometimes unforgiving terrain: Rugged
mountains, scorching desert, high cliffs, canyons, and more
than 1,000 miles of river.
The maritime border is more than 4.5 million square miles
of vast ocean patrolled by a limited number of assets,
providing cartels with enormous expanses of territory to which
to conduct their illicit activities.
Congress has appropriated billions of dollars to shore up
our border defenses. Today, we have an impressive array of
technology, infrastructure, and personnel deployed to keep the
Nation safe. Despite our best efforts, we have seemingly made
little progress, though, over the last few years to secure the
border.
Most recent reports and testimony suggest that between our
ports of entry we are a little more than 50 percent effective
at stopping people from crossing the border illegally, and
narcotics continue to pour into our communities unabated.
But on the other side of the border, the adversary, Mexican
drug cartels, operate a wide-reaching network. Nothing moves in
or out unless the cartel plaza boss says so.
Cartel presence, influence, and power throughout Mexico is
ubiquitous. Corruption is endemic. Local law enforcement in
Mexico often find themselves ill-equipped to handle the vast
amount of cartel activity.
Smuggling drugs and people is a billion-dollar business,
and the individuals in charge have one goal in mind: Make as
much money as possible delivering illicit narcotics, people,
and other assets across the border and into the United States.
Obscene profits incentivize the cartels to be
entrepreneurial and innovative in the tactics they use to
successfully smuggle their illicit cargo. For instance, we know
they conduct extensive counter-surveillance activities against
our agents. They place spotters or scouts on hilltops and use
the high ground to guide the drug loads away from agents and
other detection assets.
Sophisticated and deep tunnels that include the use of
ventilation systems and railcars to expedite the movement of
drugs have also been used. We have seen a proliferation of
unorthodox methods of smuggling, such as the use of propane-
powered double-barrel cannons in my district and around in
other areas to shoot hundreds of pounds of drugs over the
fences and barriers.
Ultralight aircraft, difficult to detect on radar, have
been used under the cover of darkness to fly drugs over the
border, dropping it very quickly and then returning undetected
to Mexico.
In my district, authorities broke up a complicated
smuggling ring recently in Cochise County. The criminal network
specialized in drive-through operations that used vehicle
convoys laden with thousands of pounds of drugs to cross remote
parts of the border. They used scouts, encrypted
communications, specialized codes to avoid detection.
It was not an amateur operation by any means. To the
contrary, it was a sophisticated criminal enterprise with
advanced tactics designed to thwart law enforcement at every
turn. This is the nature of the adversary that we are facing
along the border.
San Diego was once one of the busiest sectors for illicit
traffic in the Nation, but concerted efforts in the 1990's and
early 2000's, included additional barriers and manpower,
brought the situation under control.
But nonetheless, because the cartels are nimble, they
responded by using small open-hold vessels called panga boats
to push the drug loads farther and farther off the coast of
California--I am sure we will hear about that from you today,
Admiral--and making them more difficult to detect, track, and
ultimately interdict.
Semisubmersibles, painted blue to blend in with the ocean,
barely visible above the waterline, have been used to deliver
multi-ton cocaine loads to Mexico. Their ultimate destination
is cities and towns across our Nation.
As we increase our focus this Congress on securing the
border, which I welcome, we have to be clear-eyed about the
dangerous and sophisticated threat that we face from these
adversaries on the other side. Rest assured, the cartels will
not sit idly by while we increase manpower, technology,
infrastructure, or adjust our strategy, and that will threaten
their business model.
They will adapt. They will innovate like they always do,
and just plain sometimes outsmart us if we do not leverage the
full power of all of us together to focus on countering the
cartel network.
I want to thank the witnesses for being here today this
morning. I really look forward to your testimony and the
discussion ahead.
Before I recognize the Ranking Member, I ask unanimous
consent that the gentleman from New York, Mr. Katko, be
permitted to participate in today's hearing. Without objection,
so ordered.
[The statement of Chairwoman McSally follows:]
Statement of Chairwoman Martha McSally
february 16, 2017
First, I would like to welcome the newest Member of our
subcommittee, the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Rutherford. I look
forward to working with you and the other new Members of the committee.
As we begin the 115th Congress, let me be clear from the outset, I hope
that over the course of this Congress we can engage in thoughtful and
productive conversations that lead to legislation that will help secure
our homeland.
One of my goals this year as Chair of this subcommittee is to drill
down on the threat that an unsecure border poses to our fellow
Americans, which will be the focus of our conversation today. At our
next hearing, we will hear from the leaders of the border security
joint task forces, authorized by this committee last Congress, to
examine the Nation's counter-network approach to combating the threat.
Protecting our borders is a multi-faceted effort. The job of
securing the land border falls primarily to the U.S. Border Patrol,
while it is the job of the U.S. Coast Guard to secure our maritime
border. The Office of Field Operations has the important role of
securing more than 300 ports of entry while Air and Marine Operations
carries out air and maritime environment missions to detect and
interdict unlawful people and cargo approaching our borders.
Finally, Homeland Security Investigations supports National
security through its investigatory authorities and responsibilities.
These are not simple or easy tasks.
The Southwest Border is a dynamic place with unforgiving terrain--
rugged mountains, scorching desert, high cliffs, canyons, and more than
a thousand miles of river. The maritime border is more than 4.5 million
square miles of vast ocean, patrolled by a limited number of assets,
providing cartels with enormous expanses of territory in which to
conduct illicit activities.
Congress has appropriated billions of dollars to shore up our
border defenses. Today we have an impressive array of technology,
infrastructure, and personnel deployed to keep the Nation safe. Despite
our best efforts, we have seemingly made little progress over the last
few years to secure the border. Most recently reports and testimony
suggest that, between our ports of entry, we are little more than 50%
effective at stopping people from crossing the border illegally, and
narcotics continue to pour into our communities unabated.
But on the other side of the border, our adversary, the Mexican
drug cartels, operate a wide-reaching network. Nothing moves in or out
unless the cartel plaza boss says so. Cartel presence, influence, and
power throughout Mexico is ubiquitous. Corruption is endemic, and local
law enforcement in Mexico often find themselves ill-equipped to handle
the vast amounts of cartel activity. Smuggling drugs and people is a
billion dollar business and the individuals in charge have one goal in
mind: Make as much money as possible delivering illicit narcotics and
people across the border and into the United States.
Obscene profits incentivize the cartels to be entrepreneurial and
innovative in the tactics they use to successfully smuggle their
illicit cargo. For instance, we know that they conduct extensive
counter-surveillance against our agents. They place spotters, or
scouts, on mountains, and use the high ground to guide the drug loads
away from agents and other detection assets.
Sophisticated and deep tunnels that include the use of ventilation
systems and rail cars to expedite the movement of drugs have also been
used. And we have seen a proliferation of unorthodox methods of
smuggling, such as the use of propane-powered double barrel cannons to
shoot hundreds of pounds of drugs over the fence.
Ultralight aircraft, difficult to detect on radar, have been used
under the cover of darkness to fly marijuana over the border--dropping
it very quickly and then returning undetected to Mexico.
In my district in Arizona, authorities broke up a complicated
smuggling ring in Cochise County. The criminal network specialized in
drive-through operations that used vehicle convoys laden with thousands
of pounds of drugs to cross remote parts of the border. They used
scouts, encrypted communication, and specialized codes to avoid
detection. It was not an amateur operation by any means. To the
contrary, it was a sophisticated criminal enterprise with advanced
tactics designed to thwart law enforcement at every turn.
That is the nature of the adversary we face along the border.
San Diego was once one of the busiest sectors for illicit traffic
in the Nation, but concerted efforts in the 1990s and early 2000s that
included additional fence and manpower brought the situation under
control.
Nonetheless, because the cartels are nimble, they responded by
using small open-hulled vessels called ``panga boats'' to push drug
loads farther and farther off the coast of California, making them more
difficult to detect, track, and ultimately interdict. Semi-
submersibles, painted blue to blend in with the ocean, and barely
visible above the water line, have been used to deliver multi-ton
cocaine loads to Mexico. Their ultimate destination is cities and towns
across our country.
As we increase our focus this Congress on securing the border, we
have to be clear-eyed about the dangerous and sophisticated threat that
we face from our adversaries on the other side.
Rest assured, the cartels will not sit idly by while we increase
manpower, technology, and infrastructure that threaten their business
model. They will adapt, innovate, and just plain out-smart us if we do
not leverage the full power of the Government to focus on countering
the cartel network. I thank the witnesses for being here this morning
and look forward to their testimony.
Ms. McSally. The Chair now recognizes the Ranking Member of
the subcommittee, the gentleman from Texas, Mr. Vela, for a
statement he may have.
Mr. Vela. Thank you, Chairwoman, for calling this very
important hearing.
As we have discussed, I think this is one area where many
of us can agree that we are going to be able to work together
to achieve our ultimate goal, which is to do as much as we can
to impact the negative work that the cartels do in South
America, Mexico, and all throughout the United States and, at
the same time, do what we can to take drugs off our streets.
I would first like to welcome and introduce our newest
Members to the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security.
Congressman Lou Correa represents California's 46th
Congressional District and most recently served in the
California State Senate.
Congresswoman Val Demings represents Florida's 10th
Congressional District and previously served as the chief of
the Orlando Police Department, the first woman to hold that
position.
Congresswoman Nanette Barragan, an experienced attorney,
represents the 44th Congressional District, which includes the
Port of Los Angeles.
I would also like to recognize my colleague, Mr. Richmond,
who is a senior Member in the committee and has joined us on
this subcommittee for the first time. I look forward to working
with all of you in the coming months, because each of you bring
a unique perspective and expertise regarding border and
maritime security to this subcommittee.
The subject of our hearing today is one of particular
interest to me given that, like Congresswoman McSally, I
represent a border district, and mine is in the Rio Grande
Valley of Texas. For years now, Tamaulipas, Mexico, the state
across from my Congressional district, has been coping with
serious security issues due to cartel violence.
In fact, this coming Thursday, my Mexican colleagues at the
Federal level in the state of Tamaulipas and I will be
launching a social media effort to help promote the idea of
bringing peace to the state of Tamaulipas.
As Mexican cartels have fought for control of smuggling
corridors within Mexico and along our Southern Border,
communities on the Mexican side have seen record levels of
drug-related homicides and violence.
The threat is not confined to our Southern Border. Cartels
use criminal networks within the United States to traffic
illicit drugs, weapons, and other contraband. The security and
prosperity of all of our districts and so many communities
across the Nation depend in part on security and prosperity
across the border.
I want to continue to be supportive of United States'
efforts to that end. I am also appreciative of Secretary
Kelly's recent comments with respect to what he would like to
do to address the issue of demand in this country.
I hope to hear from you today about how the various
components within DHS are coordinating with our counterparts in
Central America and Mexico to combat transnational criminal
organizations and enhance border security.
I would ask all of our witnesses to speak to the
subcommittee about how the threat has evolved and changed over
time, what you need to address this threat, and what we as
Members of Congress can do to support all of your efforts.
Border communities, like the ones that many of us represent,
and our neighbors in Mexico are counting on us to get this
right.
Madame Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing, and I
appreciate our witnesses joining us today. I look forward to a
productive Congress with you and all the Members of the
subcommittee. I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. McSally. OK, thanks. Other Members of the committee are
reminded opening statements may be submitted for the record.
[The statement of Ranking Member Thompson follows:]
Statement of Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson
february 16, 2017
Today, the matter before the subcommittee is one where I expect
there to be a great deal of bipartisan agreement. Drug cartels seek to
exploit our borders to smuggle narcotics into the United States and
bulk cash and weapons out of this country.
The Department of Homeland Security and its Federal partners are
charged with combatting the cartels and securing America's borders,
ports, and waterways from their contraband.
This is no easy task, to be sure. The cartels are sophisticated
operations with thousands of members, the best technology, and almost
limitless resources to spend on their illicit activities.
That is why we need to use our border security resources wisely.
Why waste billions on walls that we know cartels are already defeating
by sending their drugs over, under, or through, or by concealing in
conveyances at ports of entry?
Instead, we need to dedicate funding to the personnel, technology,
and assets that will help DHS interdict illicit drugs and identify,
disrupt, and dismantle the organizations responsible for bringing drugs
into our country.
For example, Customs and Border Protection is thousands of officers
and agents short of what the agency's own staffing models say is
necessary to carry out its operations. Simply saying you are going to
hire more agents pays lip service to the problem, but does nothing to
address the underlying issues that have prevented CBP from recruiting,
hiring, and retaining personnel.
Also, Coast Guard's air and maritime assets are woefully outdated
and in dire need of recapitalization. Even so, through the dedication
and hard work of its men and women, the Coast Guard is credited with
seizing tons of cocaine in the source and transit zones each year.
Imagine what they could do with the right kind of modern assets and
the proper number of personnel to carry out the drug interdiction
mission that Congress has charged them with.
These are the kinds of things we, as a country, need to invest in
if we want to be serious about combatting the cartels and achieving
meaningful border security.
Real border security does not come from vaguely worded, politically
charged Executive Orders or fancy signing ceremonies, but rather by
providing the right personnel and tools to get the job done. I look
forward to hearing from our witnesses today about how we can do just
that.
Ms. McSally. We are pleased to be joined today by four
distinguished witnesses to discuss this important topic.
Vice Admiral Charles Ray assumed duties as the Coast Guard
deputy commandant for operations in August 2016. In this role,
Admiral Ray is responsible for the development of operational
strategy, policy, guidance, and resources that address the
Coast Guard's National priorities.
Admiral Ray has previously served as a Pacific area
commander and in the Middle East as the director of Iraq
training and advisory mission for the Ministry of Interior.
Commander Paul Beeson is the commander of the Joint Task
Force--West, Arizona and chief of the U.S. Border Patrol's
Tucson sector. As commander of JTF-West, Arizona, he is
responsible for implementing strategic guidance from Joint Task
Force--West, and commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, or CBP, through command, control, and coordination
of CBP operational functions within the State of Arizona.
In addition to those roles and responsibilities, Commander
Beeson has oversight of the Tucson sector, encompassing the
tactical and strategic operation of eight stations and
approximately 420 personnel, many of which are in my district.
Mr. Matthew Allen is the assistant director for
investigative programs for Homeland Security Investigations
within the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Mr. Allen
is responsible for programmatic oversight of HSI's strategic
planning, National policy implementation, and the development
and execution of operational initiatives.
Mr. Allen previously served as a special agent-in-charge of
Homeland Security Investigations in Arizona, where he had
oversight of the full spectrum of ICE investigative activities
and led more than 500 personnel assigned to offices throughout
the State.
Ambassador Luis Arreaga--did I pronounce that correctly?--
was appointed deputy assistant secretary of state for the
Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs
in November 2013.
In this role, he is responsible for State Department
programs combating illicit drugs and organized crime, as well
as support for law enforcement and rule of law in the Western
Hemisphere. Prior to this appointment, Ambassador Arreaga
served as United States Ambassador to the Republic of Iceland
from 2010 to 2013.
The witnesses' full written statements will appear in the
record.
The Chair now recognizes Admiral Ray for 5 minutes to
testify.
STATEMENT OF VICE ADMIRAL CHARLES W. RAY, DEPUTY COMMANDANT FOR
OPERATIONS, U.S. COAST GUARD
Admiral Ray. Good morning, Chairwoman McSally, Ranking
Member Vela, Members of the subcommittee. Thank you for the
opportunity to testify on the Coast Guard's role in combating
transnational criminal organizations and the continued threat
it poses to the homeland.
I am particularly pleased to testify alongside three of our
most important partners in the fight against transnational
crime: CBP, ICE, and the Department of State. I would like to
thank Chief Beeson, Assistant Director Allen, and Ambassador
Arreaga for their leadership in this effort.
Before I continue, I will just draw your attention to the
exhibit over there of the North America, Central America, and
South America. When I talk about the transit zone, I am
generally speaking to that and when we speak of the maritime
transit zone, it is that area between South America, Central
America, and Southern Mexico.
We continue to face a significant threat from transnational
criminal networks whose drug transit routes lead to the
southern approach of the United States. The Coast Guard
protects the maritime border not just here at home, but also
off the coast of South and Central America as part of our
layered security strategy.
As Secretary Kelly stated just a few days ago, the defense
of the Southwest Border really starts about 1,500 miles south
of there, when transnational violent transnational criminal
organizations harm economies and threaten governments and
citizens throughout the hemisphere.
They are agnostic to borders, engage in all manners of
illicit activity, and they actually destabilize Latin America.
The wide-spread violence they employ has reached epidemic
levels, is spreading, and drives the continued flow of migrants
from Central America and Mexico who attempt to illegally enter
the United States.
As one of the Nation's five Armed Forces and the only one
with broad law enforcement authority, the Coast Guard is
uniquely positioned to attack these criminal networks where
they are most vulnerable--at sea.
In the offshore transit zones, the Coast Guard employs an
interdiction package consisting of a cutter, an airborne use of
force-capable helicopter, high-speed pursuit boats and, of
course, highly trained boarding teams.
We seize multi-ton loads of drugs at sea before they are
broken into small quantities, which are extremely difficult to
detect and cause devastation at each step of their journey as
they make their way to North America.
Beyond our own capabilities, we leverage over 42 maritime
law enforcement bilateral agreements, 29 of which are in the
Western Hemisphere, to enable partner nation interdiction and
prosecutions. In many affected areas, we are the only maritime
presence to enforce universal criminal statutes with our
maritime neighbors.
Our Coast Guard personnel assets are effective. Coast Guard
and partner agencies interdicted more cocaine at sea in 2016
than was interdicted in all the land and across our country by
all Federal, State, and locals combined, because we did it in
bulk quantities off-shore, sometimes in the thousands of kilos.
By doing so, we pushed the border south, protect the Nation,
and significantly impact the transnational criminal
organizations.
Beyond demonstrating our effectiveness, these statistics
indicate that cocaine and illicit trafficking of all kinds are,
unfortunately, on the rise. However, resource constraints and
the lack of capable surface assets allow the U.S. Coast Guard
to only attack or target 30 percent of the known cases.
We have good intelligence, really high-confidence
intelligence. As a result of a lack of resources last year, we
were prevented from getting after 580 known smuggling events,
and those shipments made their way on north.
Unfortunately, the other significant National security
demands on our great Navy now preclude their participation in
this area of operations. In his testimony before the committee,
Secretary Kelly noted there hasn't been a significant sustained
Navy presence in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific for almost 4
years.
In that time, our Coast Guard has doubled down our presence
in the region, and we are your armed force in the maritime
approaches to the United States. We continue to look for ways
to increase our offshore cutter presence. As I have said, we
just don't have the assets to address all the intelligence that
we have.
For that reason, recapitalizing our medium-endurance cutter
fleet with our off-shore cutter patrol program is a must to
enable the Coast Guard to meet mission demand. We appreciate
the support thus far, and continued support from this Congress
will be essential as we move on to commission our first off-
shore patrol cutter in 2021. These new assets will make us more
effective.
Just like the other Armed Forces, we are also facing
significant readiness challenges with our aging assets and
infrastructure and a strained work force. Like our fellow
service chiefs, the commandant has said he believes it will
stay this way as long as the Budget Control Act is in effect.
We will continue to use risk-based approach to allocate our
resources. We have an outstanding and dedicated group of
professional women and men, as evidenced by the 201 metric tons
of cocaine we seized in 2016. It is a Coast Guard record.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today
and for all you do for the women and men of the Coast Guard. I
look forward to addressing your questions and concerns. Thank
you.
[The prepared statement of Admiral Ray follows:]
Prepared Statement of Charles W. Ray
February 16, 2017
introduction
Good morning Madam Chairwoman and distinguished Members of the
subcommittee. It is a pleasure to be here today to discuss the Coast
Guard's role in combating transnational organized crime and
specifically how we address the drug smuggling methods of these
networks.
Drug trafficking has destabilized regional States, undermined the
rule of law, terrorized citizens, and driven both families and
unaccompanied children to migrate to the United States. To be clear,
the flow of illicit drugs funds Transnational Organized Crime (TOC)
networks, which pose a significant and growing threat to National and
international security.
Today's Coast Guard is a direct descendant of the Revenue Cutter
Service, created by Alexander Hamilton in 1790, to stem the flow of
maritime contraband into our newly-formed Republic. It is one of the
Nation's five Armed Services, and the only branch of the military
within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). While our missions
and responsibilities have grown significantly since then--addressing a
full range of security, safety, and stewardship concerns--our anti-
smuggling roots continue to be an essential part of our service to the
Nation. The Coast Guard is the lead Federal maritime law enforcement
agency, the lead Federal agency for drug interdiction on the high seas,
and the only agency with both the authority and capability to enforce
National and international law on the high seas, outer continental
shelf, and shoreward from the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to our
inland waters.
For over two centuries, the Coast Guard has built a reputation as
one of the most agile and adaptive agencies within the Federal
Government; these qualities have served the Coast Guard well in its
efforts to combat smugglers' ever-evolving conveyances and tactics. The
modern role of the Coast Guard in this fight can be traced to the
demand for a variety of illegal drugs. From 1973 through 1991, the
Coast Guard removed over 26 million pounds of marijuana, targeting and
interdicting a variety of smuggling conveyances including commercial
fishing vessels, ocean-going cargo freighters, and pleasure craft.
Beginning in the late 1990's, through the present day, cocaine has been
the predominant drug being trafficked via maritime routes, bringing
with it shifts in smuggling tactics. Cartels initially began using some
of the very same conveyances used by marijuana smugglers, which
included multi-ton loads of cocaine vulnerable to interdiction by Coast
Guard forces. Cartels quickly adapted to Coast Guard efforts and began
expanding tactics to include the ubiquitous ``go-fast vessel,'' as well
as more modern conveyances including the purpose-built self-propelled
semi-submersible (SPSS), to disperse loads onto more numerous and
harder-to-detect conveyances.
Today we face a sophisticated and well-funded adversary that
leverages high-tech conveyances such as low-profile vessels and semi-
submersibles, employs multiple go-fast vessels to outnumber
interdicting forces, and deploys GPS beacons if forced to jettison
bales of contraband to allow later relocation; all are advanced and
coordinated means to avoid detection and evade apprehension.
The change in flow of cocaine toward the United States from South
America from 2015 to 2016 was the largest increase the service has
observed to date. The rise of cocaine production is attributed to the
largest single-year increase of coca cultivation in Colombia ever
recorded (immediately following the second-largest single-year increase
in more than a decade). To meet this growing threat, the Coast Guard
has dedicated additional focus and assets to the Western Hemisphere
Transit Zone\1\, and is investing in the people and platforms necessary
to carry out an agressive interdiction effort, in addition to helping
build regional partner capabilities.
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\1\ The maritime portion of the Western Hemisphere Transit Zone is
a 6 million-square-mile area, roughly twice the size of the continental
United States. The Transit Zone includes the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of
Mexico, and the eastern Pacific Ocean.
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current threat: transnational organized crime, violence, and
instability
One of the goals of the Coast Guard's drug interdiction program is
to interdict illicit traffic as close to the source zone as possible.
This helps to stem the flow of drugs from reaching Central America,
Mexico, and the United States. Over the past 5 years, Coast Guard
cutters and aircraft have removed more than 630 metric tons of high-
purity cocaine from the high seas, with a wholesale value of nearly 18
billion dollars.\2\ Our annual seizures at sea amount to more than
three times the quantity of cocaine seized at our borders and within
the United States, combined. Despite these successes, TOC networks
operate throughout Central America, vying for power through drug-fueled
violence and corruption of Government officials; in fact, eight out of
the world's ten countries with the highest per capita rates of homicide
are along the cocaine trafficking routes in the Western Hemisphere.\3\
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\2\ U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration,
2013 United States Illicit Drug Prices, DEA Intelligence Report, DEA-
DCW-DIR-012-15, January 2015.
\3\ United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), UNODC
Research and Trend Analysis Branch, Global Study on Homicide 2013.
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In response, the Coast Guard released its Western Hemisphere
Strategy that indentifies three priorities for the maritime domain in
the Western Hemisphere: Combating Networks, Securing Borders, and
Safeguarding Commerce. To meet these priorities, the strategy
emphasizes the importance of a robust off-shore airborne use-of-force
(AUF)-enabled cutter capability, which is supported by fixed-wing
maritime patrol aircraft and sophisticated intelligence capabilities.
combating toc networks--a layered approach to drug interdiction
The Coast Guard uses a ``maritime trident'' of cutters, boats, and
aircraft in a layered approach to combat TOC networks as they transport
illicit goods from the source zone, through Central America and
Caribbean islands, into the United States. This approach maintains
operational control by confronting the threat beyond our land borders,
beyond Mexico, and beyond Central America on the high seas where
traffickers are most exposed and vulnerable to interdiction by the
United States. This layered approach begins overseas, spans the off-
shore regions, and continues into our territorial seas and our ports of
entry.
The Coast Guard is the major maritime interdiction asset provider
to Joint Interagency Task Force--South (JIATF-S), which executes the
Department of Defense statutory responsibility for the detection and
monitoring of illicit drug trafficking in the air and maritime domains
bound for the United States in support of law enforcement agencies such
as the Coast Guard. Our most capable force package is flight deck-
equipped major cutters with embarked Airborne Use of Force (AUF)-
capable helicopters and deployable pursuit-capable boats, supported by
fixed-wing maritime patrol aircraft, along with Coast Guard law
enforcement detachments embarked on U.S. and allied ships. When they
are able to target cases, they have been 80-90 percent effective in
disrupting drug shipments.
As an example of their effectiveness, Coast Guard Cutter HAMILTON,
the fourth and newest of nine National Security Cutters (NSC) to be
built for the Coast Guard, returned to her homeport of Charleston,
South Carolina from her inaugural patrol on December 16, 2016. On deck,
she carried more than 24 metric tons of high-purity cocaine from 27
different interdictions by U.S. forces with a street value of nearly
$700 million.\4\ These interdictions also netted 111 suspects bound for
U.S. prosecution.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration,
2013 United States Illicit Drug Prices, DEA Intelligence Report, DEA-
DCW-DIR-012-15, January 2015.
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Our interdicting capabilities continue to prove their value against
TOC networks' conveyance of choice--the go-fast vessel. In 2016, our
Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) of AUF-capable
helicopters--along with partner aircraft from the U.S. Navy, the
Netherlands, and United Kingdom operating under our law enforcement
authority with Coast Guard precision marksmen--set a record 63 at-sea
interdictions, netting over 44 metric tons of cocaine.
In addition, the Coast Guard began providing high-speed pursuit
boats and crews to U.S. Navy Patrol Coastal class ships operating in
the transit zone in 2016 to increase interdiction opportunities.
Coupled with Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachments, this innovative
force package capability netted 11 interdictions and removed 6.5 metric
tons of cocaine in just a few months. In total for fiscal year 2016,
the Coast Guard removed 201 metric tons of cocaine (7.1 percent of
estimated flow)\5\ and 52,600 pounds of marijuana from the transit
zone, worth an estimated wholesale value of $5.7 billion.
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\5\ U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector
General, Review of U.S. Coast Guard's Fiscal Year 2016 Drug Control
Performance Summary, OIG Report, OIG-17-33, February 1, 2017.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The importance of interdictions transcends the direct removal of
drugs taken off the high seas; when the Coast Guard apprehends suspects
from drug smuggling cases, they disclose information during prosecution
and sentencing that is used to help indict, extradite, and convict drug
kingpins in the effort to disrupt and dismantle TOC networks.
Interdictions also take profits out of the pockets of criminal networks
by denying them financial resources. Additionally, they contribute to
actionable intelligence on future events, producing follow-on seizures
and intelligence. TOC networks cause much of the corruption and
violence that spurs the increased migrant flow seen in recent years.
While more than 90 percent of our 2016 interdictions were cued by
intelligence, the Coast Guard's aging major cutters limit our ability
to respond to all intelligence-cued events. Critical acquisitions like
the National Security Cutter (NSC) and Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) are
essential to our long-term success in our fight against TOC networks.
international cooperation
In coordination with JIATF-S, the Coast Guard is engaging with
partner nations in Central and South America, and Mexico, leveraging
their capabilities and local knowledge to improve maritime governance
in the littoral regions being exploited by TOC networks. Among the
efforts to foster international cooperation and build partner capacity,
Coast Guard personnel are posted as attaches, liaisons, and drug
interdiction specialists at several of our embassies in the Western
Hemisphere. These personnel develop strategic relationships with
partner nations that facilitate real-time operations coordination,
confirmation of vessel registry, waivers of jurisdiction, and
disposition of seized vessels, contraband, and detained crews. The
Coast Guard's law enforcement, legal, and regulatory expertise are in
high demand from Central American partners, whose Navies more closely
resemble the U.S. Coast Guard than the U.S. Navy. Coast Guard
International Training teams, as well as Coast Guard units deployed in
the region increase professional interaction, shiprider activities, and
training in conjunction with operations, and also execute maritime
exercises coincident with port visits and patrols.
Working in conjunction with the Departments of State and Justice,
the Coast Guard has negotiated, concluded, and maintains over 40
counterdrug bilateral agreements and operational procedures with
partner nations throughout the world, the majority of which are in the
Western Hemisphere. These agreements enable the Coast Guard to rapidly
gain authority to board suspect vessels, prevent suspect vessels from
using under-patrolled territorial waters of partner nations as safe
havens, and coordinate interdiction and apprehension operations in the
transit zone. Highlighting their importance to Coast Guard counterdrug
efforts, 59 percent of all Coast Guard interdictions in fiscal year
2016 involved the use of a bilateral agreement or operational
procedures agreement.
the arrival zone
Closer to United States shores, Coast Guard operational commanders
work with the other operational components within DHS and across the
interagency to provide a robust presence in the U.S. maritime
approaches by deploying Fast Response Cutters, high-speed pursuit
boats, medium-range fixed-wing aircraft, and land-based AUF-capable
helicopters. To achieve Unity of Effort, the Coast Guard is a major
contributor to DHS's Southern Border and Approaches Campaign Plan. The
Coast Guard Atlantic Area Commander, Vice Admiral Karl Schultz, serves
as the director of Joint Task Force--East overseeing coordination
efforts for DHS components operating in the maritime approaches in the
Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and eastern Pacific Ocean.
conclusion
The Coast Guard endeavors to secure our vast maritime border by
identifying emergent threats, countering them in a layered approach,
utilizing strong international relationships, and maximizing domestic
and regional partnerships; this approach has been key to combatting TOC
networks. The Coast Guard stands ready to meet off-shore, coastal, and
inland drug trafficking threats in the maritime domain posed by TOC
networks.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify today, and thank you for
your continued support of the U.S. Coast Guard. I would be pleased to
answer your questions.
Ms. McSally. Thank you, Admiral Ray.
The Chair now recognizes Commander Beeson to testify for 5
minutes.
STATEMENT OF PAUL A. BEESON, COMMANDER, JOINT TASK FORCE--WEST,
ARIZONA, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Chief Beeson. Good morning, Chairwoman McSally, Ranking
Member Vela, and the distinguished Members of the subcommittee.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear today on behalf of U.S.
Customs and Border Protection to discuss the evolving drug
smuggling tactics and techniques used by transnational criminal
organizations and how CBP is working to address this threat and
secure our Nation's borders.
I began my career as a Border Patrol agent in 1985, and in
my 32 years of service I have seen the border change from a
barbed wire fence and a Nation-wide work force of just a few
thousand Border Patrol agents, to today, with over 600 miles of
fencing and almost 20,000 Border Patrol agents on duty.
The border has changed and become more complex. Over the
course of my career, I have seen the creation of the Department
of Homeland Security, funding increases and decreases, and the
committed evolution of criminals who seek to exploit our
borders.
I have also seen CBP and the legacy offices that make up
CBP work with Congress to improve the border environment.
Personnel, resources, technology, and tactical infrastructure
have shaped the border that we see today.
We have realized greater situational awareness and
significant reductions in activity from a high of over 1.6
million arrests in fiscal year 2000 to just over 400,000
arrests last fiscal year. Throughout my career, I have seen
TCOs demonstrate unending resolve in their intent to exploit
the border for their own gain.
They have used nimble and innovative tactics to illegally
cross our borders and smuggle both people and contraband. TCOs
operate throughout the border environment, including at and
between the ports of entry in the various domains such as land,
air, and sea.
CBP has met and combated these illegal activities, but TCOs
continue in their intent to circumvent border security
measures. Drug smuggling is a part of many TCO enterprises, and
today these groups smuggle drugs by foot, vehicle, air,
tunneling, and even through the use of projectile-type systems.
TCOs also rely on scouting and counter-surveillance,
concealment and logistical support to further their illegal
drug smuggling operations. While illegal drug smuggling still
occurs, CBP continues to take steps in combatting their
efforts.
In fiscal year 2016, CBP officers seized or disrupted more
than 3.3 million pounds of narcotics. In addition to
interdictions and seizures, CBP has also disrupted the manner
in which TCOs attempt to smuggle drugs.
As an example, prior to fencing and technology deployments
in the Tucson sector area of operations, over 1,000 vehicle
drive-throughs were recorded in 2006, and last year, only 18
such events recorded. While ramping and drive-throughs still
occur, the efforts of CBP have diminished their probability of
success and shaped these illicit operations.
What I have seen in over 30 years of law enforcement is
that TCOs remain persistent in their intent to engage in
illegal cross-border activity. I have also seen CBP, through
collaboration and coordination with law enforcement partners,
make progress in improving the security of our borders.
This is the result of investments over the years in our
border security, and in the blood, sweat, and tears of the men
and woman who are engaged in the daily battle to secure our
borders. With continued support from Congress, CBP, in
coordination with our partners, we will continue to further
refine and enhance the effectiveness of our detection and
interdiction capabilities.
While TCOs may be intent in their smuggling operations, CBP
is no less determined to safeguard the borders of this great
country with vigilance, service, and integrity.
Chairwoman McSally, Ranking Member Vela, and distinguished
Members of this subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to
testify today and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Chief Beeson follows:]
Prepared Statement of Paul A. Beeson
February 16, 2017
introduction
Chairwoman McSally, Ranking Member Vela, and distinguished Members
of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear today on
behalf of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to discuss the
evolving drug smuggling tactics and techniques used by transnational
criminal organizations (TCO) and how CBP is working to address this
threat and secure our Nation's borders.
CBP is responsible for America's front-line border security and has
a significant role in the Nation's efforts to combat the cross-border
criminal activity of cartels and other TCOs. Thanks to the support of
Congress, in the past decade, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
has deployed more personnel, resources, technology, and tactical
infrastructure for securing our borders than at any other time in
history. As America's front-line border agency, CBP protects the United
States against terrorist threats and prevents the illegal entry of
inadmissible persons and contraband, while facilitating lawful travel
and trade. CBP's mission demands we examine all border security
threats, from human smuggling to drug smuggling. TCOs continue to
exploit the border environment for their own gains, employing various
capabilities to carry out illegal operations. We continue to meet and
combat these capabilities.
CBP plays a critical role in the effort to keep dangerous drugs
from illegally entering the country. Specifically, by leveraging a
comprehensive, multi-layered, intelligence driven, and threat-based
approach to enhance the security of our borders, we can diminish the
effectiveness of TCO drug operations, as well as other border security
threats. This dynamic approach to security both reduces the
vulnerability of any single operational approach and extends our zone
of security to include the avenues of approach, allowing threats to be
addressed before they reach our borders. By leveraging international
partnerships, we can ensure that our physical borders are not the first
or last lines of defense.
the current border environment
The border environment today is both challenging and complex. TCOs
continually adjust their operations to circumvent detection and
interdiction by law enforcement, and are quick to take advantage of
technology advances, cheaper transportation and improvements to
distribution methods, and improving fabrication and concealment
techniques. Also, while the threats of illegal immigration and drug
smuggling continue to be the principal criminal concerns in the border
environment, TCOs continue to maintain a diverse portfolio of crimes to
include fraud, weapons smuggling, kidnapping, and extortion. DHS, with
the support of Congress, has made significant improvements to the
physical security infrastructure along the Southwestern Border and has
invested in personnel, training, and information sharing. These
investments have been valuable in combating the TCOs and have helped
shape the current border environment.
In fiscal year 2016, CBP officers and agents seized and/or
disrupted more than 3.3 million pounds of narcotics across the country
\1\ including approximately 46,000 pounds of methamphetamine, 4,800
pounds of heroin, and 440 pounds of fentanyl. The vast majority of CBP
drug interdictions occur along the Southwest land border from all
environments and transportation modes.
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\1\ Fiscal Year 2016 Border Security Report, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection, https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/
documents/2016-Dec/CBP-fy2016-border-security-report.pdf.
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Much of the illegal drug trafficking encountered by CBP officers
and agents is facilitated by TCOs operating in Mexico. The reach and
influence of Mexican cartels, notably Los Zetas, and the Gulf, Juarez,
Jalisco New Generation, and Sinaloa Cartels, stretches across and
beyond the Southwest Border, operating through networks and loose
affiliations with smaller organizations in cities across the United
States. According to a 2016 Drug Enforcement Administration report,
Mexican TCOs pose the greatest criminal drug threat to the United
States. These criminal organizations traffic heroin, methamphetamine,
cocaine, and marijuana throughout the United States, using established
transportation routes and distribution networks.\2\ TCOs also maintain
influence over U.S.-based gangs as a way to expand their domestic
distribution process. Gang members are heavily involved in the domestic
distribution of narcotics and, to a lesser extent, the actual movement
of contraband across the Southwest Border.
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\2\ Drug Enforcement Administration,2016 National Drug Threat
Assessment Summary, ``Mexican Transnational Criminal Organizations'',
page 1, DEA-DCT-DIR-001-17, November 2016. https://www.dea.gov/
resource-center/2016%20NDTA%20Summary.pdf.
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tco operations
In examining TCOs, it is apparent that they continue to seek ways
to exploit the border environment. These TCOs pose a significant threat
to both U.S. and international security. The illegal operations of TCOs
affect both public safety and economic stability. Not only are these
criminal networks resilient, but they maintain illicit pathways through
foreign countries and toward the U.S. border, which could be
exploitable by terror organizations to move personnel and assets into
the United States. Furthermore, their operations are often diversified
with separate operational cells, and with TCO participants often having
the capability to participate in multiple roles. These TCOs are highly
mobile and maintain sophisticated cross-border networks and are
involved in a wide range of organized criminal activities including
firearms trafficking, drug smuggling, and alien smuggling (See Exhibit
14). Additionally, TCOs operate throughout the spectrum of the border
environment including at and between the ports of entry (POE), and in
the various domains such as land, air, and sea.
The vast expanses of remote and rugged terrain between our POEs,
and the large volume of trade and traffic at our POEs, continue to be
targeted for exploitation by TCOs. These groups use a wide range of
ever-evolving methods to move illicit goods into the United States.
Some of these techniques include the movement of drugs by foot,
conveyance, tunneling, and even through the use of projectile-type
systems. These groups also rely on supporting tactics such as
countersurveillance, concealment, and logistical support to further
their illegal drug smuggling operations.
The Southwest land border POEs are the major points of entry for
illegal drugs, where smugglers use a wide variety of tactics and
techniques for concealing drugs. CBP officers regularly find drugs
ingested, concealed in body cavities, taped to bodies (body carriers),
hidden inside vehicle seat cushions, gas tanks, dash boards, tires,
packaged food, household and hygiene products, in checked luggage, and
concealed in construction materials on commercial trucks. While many
smuggling attempts occur at POEs, the mail and express consignment
environment, as well as maritime cargo also remain attractive options
for smugglers.
TCOs have increased both the number and the sophistication of
smuggling tunnels (See Exhibits 11-13). The tunnel threat consists of
four categories of tunnels: Conduit, rudimentary, interconnecting, and
sophisticated. In the Arizona border regions specifically, TCOs also
continue to attempt ``drive-throughs''--incursions into U.S. territory
by driving vehicles on ramps over the fence, or by attempting to cut
the fence to drive vehicles containing illegal drugs across the border.
Drive-through incursions generally involve large loads of illegal
drugs, an expansive network of individuals (to include scouts),
strategic logistics, and sophisticated communications equipment. TCOs
have also improved their capabilities in passing drugs over existing
fencing. Whereas TCOs previously threw, by hand, small loads of drugs
over the border fence, they now utilize compressed air cannons to
launch bundles of illicit narcotics in excess of 100 pounds over the
border fence. These illegal operations are indicative of the ever-
evolving and persistent intent of TCOs to exploit the border
environment.
As interdiction and enforcement efforts along the U.S.-Mexico
border have become more effective, TCOs continue to use maritime and
air smuggling routes to transport contraband into the United States.
TCOs use a variety of methods to enter the United States via maritime
routes, including the use of small open vessels known as ``pangas.''
These small, wood or fiberglass, home-made fishing vessels cross the
border at night, attempting to use their relatively high-speed and
small radar signature to evade detection by CBP and U.S. Coast Guard
(USCG) patrol vessels and aircraft. TCOs also use pleasure boats or
small commercial fishing vessels--Sometimes equipped with hidden
compartments--and attempt to blend in with legitimate boaters and
transport contraband during broad daylight. Smuggling operations using
this technique rely on the sheer number of similar boats on U.S. waters
on any given day to elude detection. TCOs have also turned to new
methods of smuggling by air with the emergence in recent years of the
use of ultralight aircraft (See Exhibit 1). Under the cover of
darkness, ultralights fly across the Southwest Border and air-drop
drugs to waiting ground crews.
TCOs regularly use countersurveillance tactics. This type of
activity ranges from the use of scouts, individuals performing
surveillance activity against law enforcement agencies, to more
complicated activity such as interception of law enforcement
communication. Scouts embed deep in the remote, rugged, terrain as well
as urban communities, watching and reporting on border law enforcement
activities. TCOs who deploy these scouts utilize a robust, highly
technical, communication method--with the deliberate intent of
concealing their communication from law enforcement (See Exhibits 2-5).
While some of these operations are illegal in their execution (such as
attempts to illegally obtain Law Enforcement Sensitive information)
others simply exploit the public venues from which, and within which,
law enforcement operates (such as monitoring the coming and going of
patrol vehicles from a Border Patrol station).
As TCOs involved in smuggling continue to explore new tactics and
techniques to attempt to evade detection and interdiction, CBP, our
Federal partners, and other law enforcement entities continue to adapt
and increase our enforcement resources, enhancing our capabilities, and
refine our strategies to anticipate and disrupt TCO activity.
cbp efforts, resources, and capabilities to counter tco s
Addressing the TCO threat necessitates a united, comprehensive
strategy and an aggressive approach by multiple entities across all
levels of government. In close coordination with local, State, Tribal,
international, and Federal law enforcement partners--specifically U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the USCG--CBP's continued
efforts to interdict illegal aliens, drugs, cash, and weapons at the
border are a key aspect of U.S. border security efforts. We must also
concentrate on increasing our understanding and identification of
transnational criminal networks in order to identify, interdict,
investigate, and prosecute TCOs and their criminal activity.
Along U.S. Borders
Since 2004, the number of Border Patrol agents has nearly doubled,
from approximately 10,800 in 2004 to over 19,500 agents today. Along
the Southwest border, DHS has increased the number of law enforcement
on the ground from approximately 9,100 Border Patrol agents in 2001 to
more than 16,000 today. At our Northern Border, the force of 500 agents
that we sustained 15 years ago has grown to over 2,000.\3\
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\3\ As of January 7, 2017.
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To combat the threat of TCO drug smuggling activities along the
Southwest Border between the POEs, CBP relies on a network of systems
comprising of information, integration, personnel, technology, and
infrastructure. CBP has deployed sophisticated detection technology,
including fixed towers, mobile surveillance units, ground sensors, and
thermal imaging systems to increase the ability to detect illegal
cross-border activity and contraband and maintains 654 miles of border
fencing and other tactical infrastructure in key trafficking areas. The
CBP ReUse effort utilizes Department of Defense (DOD) technologies,
including aerostat technology, spectrometers, land, air, and maritime
radar, and night-vision equipment that are not needed by DOD but can be
used to satisfy critical border security missions with minimal up-front
costs for DHS. These resources are matched with personnel of various
skill sets who work with other Federal, State, and local law
enforcement agencies to interdict TCO drug smuggling operations.
As part of its efforts to prevent the illicit smuggling of drugs
and other contraband, CBP maintains a high level of vigilance on
avenues of egress from our Nation's borders. TCOs deploy a
sophisticated network of scouts into rough and remote terrain as well
as highly-populated urban areas along the Southwest Border, making the
identification and disruption of scout activity highly challenging. CBP
utilizes predictive analysis, available technology, targeted
enforcement, and the ability to rapidly readjust counter surveillance
activities to affect and degrade the ability of scouts to operate in a
given environment. When the location of a scout is discovered, we work
quickly to counter the scout's ability to take advantage of major
vantage points and force spotter displacement or relocation; thus
forcing them into more costly, vulnerable, and continuous
reorganization.
When tunnels are detected and investigated, each U.S. Border Patrol
(USBP) sector follows established protocols for coordination,
confirmation, assessment, investigation, exploitation, and remediation.
The USBP is an active participant in ICE Homeland Security
Investigations' (HSI) tunnel task forces. Since 2010, CBP has operated
a Tunnel Detection and Technology Program, to integrate the efforts of
CBP, ICE, the DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T), and the
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), to address tunnel-related
activities and technology.
As an example of further CBP counter tunnel efforts, in March of
2016, collaboration through the cross-border coordination initiative
and bi-national tunnel teams led Mexican officials to alert USBP agents
in Nogales, Arizona, that a tunnel entrance in Nogales, Sonora had been
located. During their investigation, USBP discovered that the
incomplete cross-border tunnel extended approximately 30 feet into the
United States. Since agents discovered the first illicit tunnel in 1990
in Douglas, Arizona, there have been 195 illicit cross-border tunnels
discovered--194 along the Southwest Border and one discovered along the
Northern Border near Lynden, Washington. Investigating a cross-border
tunnel is a particularly dangerous task that requires an agent to crawl
into what is usually a dark and confined space of unknown structural
integrity and the potential to encounter a variety of threats. In some
of the most narrow, dangerous tunnels, the Nogales tunnel team deploys
a wireless, camera-equipped robot to investigate the passages. After a
tunnel is investigated, the passage must be thoroughly remediated, or
blocked to prevent further use.
At U.S. Ports of Entry
To support CBP's evolving, more complex mission since September 11,
2001, the number of CBP officers ensuring the secure flow of people and
goods into the Nation through POEs has increased from 17,279 customs
and immigration inspectors in 2003, to over 21,000 CBP officers and
2,400 agriculture specialists today. At POEs, the Office of Field
Operations (OFO) utilizes CBP officer expertise and experience,
technology, such as non-intrusive inspection (NII) X-ray and gamma ray
imaging systems, and canine teams to detect the illegal transit of
drugs hidden on people, in cargo containers, and concealed in
conveyances (See Exhibit 6 and 8-10).
As of February 1, 2017, 313 Large-Scale (LS)-NII systems are
deployed to, and in between, our POEs. In fiscal year 2016, LS-NII
systems were used to conduct more than 6.5 million examinations
resulting in more than 2,600 seizures and over 359,636 pounds of seized
narcotics. NII systems are particularly valuable in detecting concealed
contraband in vehicles. Two months ago, CBP officers working at the
World Trade Bridge in Laredo, Texas, referred a driver and vehicle for
secondary inspection. Using both non-intrusive inspection equipment and
a narcotics-detection canine, CBP officers discovered and seized 201
pounds of alleged crystal methamphetamine concealed in fiberglass
pottery, with a street value of more than $4 million.\4\
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\4\ https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/cbp-officers-
seize-more-4-million-crystal-meth-world-trade-bridge.
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Personal vehicles are not the only means by which TCOs attempt to
smuggle illegal drugs. In April 2016, CBP officers used non-intrusive
inspection equipment to discover approximately 121 pounds of heroin and
8 pounds of cocaine in a shipping container of vegetables transiting
from Ecuador to Miami, Florida, through the Red Hook Container Terminal
in Brooklyn, New York.\5\ TCOs also move drugs--especially hard drugs
such as heroin and methamphetamine--in smaller quantities to try to
evade detection. This past December, CBP officers working express
consignment operations in Cincinnati intercepted a shipment containing
53.46 pounds of methamphetamines concealed in decorative concrete
sculptures shipped from Mexico.\6\
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\5\ https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/cbp-officers-
seize-approximately-121-pounds-heroin-and-8-pounds-cocaine.
\6\ https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-media-release/cincinnati-
cbp-seizes-stone-statue-filled-meth.
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The OFO National Canine Program (NCP) deploys specialized detection
canine teams throughout the Nation. OFO's 489 canine teams are trained
to detect narcotics, currency, firearms, and concealed humans. The
majority of the canine teams are concentrated in four field offices
along the Southwest Border. Of those 489 canine teams, 49 of these
teams also trained to detect firearms and currency. During fiscal year
2016, OFO canine teams were responsible for the seizure of 533,783
pounds of narcotics, $38,629,557 in seized property, and $21,530,795 in
currency seized. The currency/firearms detection canine program was
also responsible for 154 firearms and 14,000 rounds of ammunitions
seized.
Because TCOs are also known to use legitimate commercial modes of
travel and transport to smuggle drugs and other illicit goods, CBP
partners with the private sector to provide anti-drug smuggling
training to air, sea, and land commercial transport companies
(carriers). The overall goals of these programs and their training
component are to encourage commercial carriers to share the burden of
stopping the flow of illicit drugs; to deter smugglers from using
commercial carriers to smuggle drugs; and to provide carriers with the
incentive to improve their security and their drug smuggling awareness.
The Carrier Initiative Program is a voluntary training program directed
at employees of carriers with route systems that are high-risk for drug
smuggling. The Super Carrier Initiative Program is for those carriers
that face an extraordinarily high-risk from drug traffickers.
Participating carriers sign agreements stating that the carrier will
exercise the highest degree of care and diligence in securing their
facilities and conveyances, while CBP agrees to conduct site surveys,
make recommendations, and provide training. CBP and various carriers
have signed over 3,800 Carrier Initiative Agreements and 27 Super
Carrier Agreements.
In the Air and the Sea
To advance counternarcotic efforts in the air and at sea, CBP
deploys capable and effective aerial and marine assets, including
manned aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems and strategic and tactical
aerostats, providing critical surveillance coverage and domain
awareness (See Exhibit 7). CBP's Air and Marine Operations (AMO)
employs high-speed Coastal Interceptor Vessels specifically designed
and engineered with the speed, maneuverability, integrity, and
endurance to intercept and engage a variety of suspect non-compliant
vessels in offshore waters, including the Great Lakes on the Northern
Border.
CBP AMO P-3 Orion Aircraft (P-3s) have also been an integral part
of the successful counternarcotic missions operating in coordination
with Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-S). The P-3s patrol in a
42 million-square-mile area known as the Source and Transit Zone, which
includes more than 41 nations, the Pacific Ocean, Gulf of Mexico,
Caribbean Sea, and seaboard approaches to the United States. In fiscal
year 2016, CBP's P-3s operating out of Corpus Christi, Texas, and
Jacksonville, Florida, flew more than 6,100 hours in support of
counternarcotic missions resulting in 129 interdiction events of
suspected smuggling vessels and aircraft. These events led to the total
seizure of 87,657 kg of cocaine with an estimated wholesale value of
$2.5 billion.\7\
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\7\ Drug Enforcement Administration, 2013 United States Illicit
Drug Prices, page 7, DEA-DCW-DIR-012-15, January 2015. 2013 National
Price Range, Cocaine, Approximately $28,700 per kilogram.
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In the air domain, AMO detects, identifies, investigates, and
interdicts potential air threats to the United States including general
aviation (GA) aircraft involved in the transit of contraband. The Air
and Marine Operations Center (AMOC), a state-of-the-art law enforcement
surveillance center, monitors complex airway traffic to identify
illicit use of aircraft and those attempting to blend in with
legitimate traffic. CBP's eight Tethered Aerostat Radar Systems (TARS)
form a network of long-range radars deployed along the border, which
can identify and monitor low-altitude aircraft and vessels. TARS and
hundreds of other domestic and international radar data are integrated
through AMOC, located in Riverside, California, to identify and track
suspect aircraft incursions. Also, AMO actively participates in
Operation Martillo, an international counter illicit trafficking
initiative whereby U.S. and regional partner nations' military and law
enforcement agencies patrol the air and sea environments in the
Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and the Eastern Pacific on a year-round
basis.
intelligence and information sharing
Substantive and timely information sharing is critical in targeting
and interdicting TCOs involved with drug-trafficking along the
Southwest and Northern borders. CBP contributes to several initiatives
to improve and integrate the combined intelligence capabilities of
multiple Federal entities--including DHS, the intelligence community,
and DOD--as well as our State, local, Tribal, and international
partners. For example, CBP participates in the Office of National Drug
Control Policy-led Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy
implementation effort, which includes a focus on the improvement of
intelligence and information sharing among law enforcement agencies on
the Federal, State, local, and Tribal levels. From the use of labs to
improved relationships with partners, we are committed to the creation
of an intelligence and information enterprise for the benefit of all
those combating drug smuggling. Improved technology and enhanced
capabilities have expanded the collection, analysis, and dissemination
of information among law enforcement partners working to dismantle TCO
networks.
For example, the CBP Laboratories and Scientific Services
Directorate uses advanced techniques to provide qualitative
identification and quantitative determination as well as analysis of
heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine to assist with
identifying potential drug smuggling routes. In addition, S&T is
working to develop, test, and pilot new technology for securing and
scanning cargo, improving surveillance of the Southern border, and
enhancing detection capabilities for radar-evading aircraft. S&T is
also pursuing and fielding new technology to monitor storm drains,
detect tunnels, track low-flying aircraft, monitor ports, and enhance
current mobile/fixed radar and camera surveillance systems to increase
border security. S&T-developed technology recently put into operational
use at the U.S.-Mexico border includes a new general aviation aircraft
scanner in Laredo, Texas, and a new Brownsville-Matamoros Rail Non-
Intrusive Inspection Microwave Data Transmission System.
CBP also hosts monthly briefing/teleconferences with Federal,
State, and local partners regarding the current State of the border--
the Northern Border and Southwest Border--in order to monitor emerging
trends and threats and provide a cross-component, multi-agency venue
for discussing trends and threats. The monthly briefings focus on
narcotics, weapons, and currency interdictions and alien apprehensions
both at and between the POEs. These briefings/teleconferences currently
include participants from the government of Canada, the government of
Mexico; ICE; USCG; DEA; FBI; U.S. Northern Command; Joint Interagency
Task Force-South; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives;
U.S. Attorneys' Offices; Naval Investigative Command; State and Major
Urban Area Fusion Centers; and other international, Federal, State, and
local law enforcement as appropriate.
CBP also contributes to the whole-of-Government effort to combat
narcotics-related threats by sharing critical information on travelers
and cargo with investigative and intelligence partner agencies to
identify and disrupt sophisticated routes and networks. Recognizing the
need for open and sustainable channels to share information with our
law enforcement and intelligence partners, personnel are co-located at
the National Targeting Center to support efforts to combat narcotics
and contraband smuggling by integrating real-time intelligence and all-
source information into CBP targeting efforts and enforcement actions.
Information exchange with our partners within the Government of
Mexico, facilitated by the CBP Attache office in Mexico, has allowed
for an unprecedented exchange of real-time information through
deployments of personnel between our countries. Representatives from
Mexican Customs (Servicio de Administracion Tributaria) are deployed at
the CBP National Targeting Center in Sterling, Virginia, to share
information and assist in targeting narcotics and other contraband.
Likewise, CBP personnel are assigned to Mexico City and Panama under
the Joint Security Program where we exchange alerts on suspicious TCO
movements through the monitoring of our Advance Passenger Information
System.
Enhancing counternarcotic information sharing in the air and
maritime environments, the AMOC integrates data from multiple sensor
sources to provide real-time information on suspect targets to
responders at the Federal, State, and local levels. AMOC's capabilities
are enhanced by the continued integration of DHS and other Federal and
Mexican personnel to increase efforts to identify, interdict, and
investigate suspected drug trafficking in the air and maritime domains.
operational coordination
A whole-of-Government approach that leverages interagency and
international partnerships as a force multiplier has been and will
continue to be the most effective way to keep our border secure.
Providing critical capabilities toward the whole-of-Government
approach, CBP works extensively with our Federal, State, local, Tribal,
and international partners to address drug trafficking and other
transnational threats along the Southwest Border, Northern Border, and
coastal approaches. Our security efforts are enhanced through special
joint operations and task forces conducted under the auspices of multi-
agency enforcement teams, composed of representatives from
international and U.S. Federal law enforcement agencies who work
together with State, local, and Tribal agencies to target drug and
transnational criminal activity, including investigations involving
National security and organized crime.
Under the Department's Unity of Effort initiative, and with the
establishment of three new DHS Joint Task Forces (JTFs), CBP is
enhancing our collaboration with other DHS components--specifically ICE
and USCG--to leverage the unique resources, authorities, and
capabilities of each agency to more effectively and efficiently execute
our border security missions against transnational criminal
organizations, drug-trafficking, and other threats and challenges. The
operation of the JTFs increases information sharing with Federal,
State, and local law enforcement agencies and improves border-wide
criminal intelligence-led interdiction operations to disrupt and
dismantle TCO operations. CBP, together with our international,
Federal, State, local, and Tribal partners, is committed to reducing
the risk associated with TCOs by addressing threats within the Southern
Border and Approaches Joint Operating Area.
Joint Task Force--West (JTF-W), with CBP as executive agent,
developed specific security objectives to frame and focus operations
against prioritized TCOs, including integrating and aligning our
intelligence capabilities; institutionalizing integrated counter-
network operations to identify and target TCOs and illicit networks;
prioritizing investigative efforts to disrupt, degrade, and dismantle
TCOs and illicit networks; and strengthening international,
prosecutorial, and deterrent efforts against TCO enterprises and
significant activity impacting the JTF-W Joint Operating Area.
Additionally, JTF-W continues to plant the seed for the next evolution
of border security by targeting priority TCOs and their supporting
illicit networks in ways never done before. As a result of the joint
infrastructure that has been established during this past year, JTF-W
is now able to plan, coordinate, and execute integrated counter network
operations beyond traditional DHS component operational capabilities
and the immediate border. The ability to leverage the full spectrum of
DHS intelligence, interdiction, and investigative efforts has maximized
consequence application to illicit network members exploiting our
operational seams, prosecutorial thresholds, and those abusing current
immigration benefits.
TCO activity is a global problem and CBP continues to work with our
international partners, especially the government of Mexico to share
information and leverage resources to combat this threat. Through the
21st Century Border Management Initiative, the U.S. Government, and the
government of Mexico are working to strengthen our collaborative
relationship and efforts to secure and facilitate the cross-border
flows of people and cargo. International Liaison Units (ILU) facilitate
cooperation between U.S. and Mexican law enforcement authorities as
part of a multi-layered effort to target, disrupt, and dismantle
criminal organizations.
The Cross Border Coordination Initiative (CBCI) provides an
operational framework to enhance public safety and degrade and disrupt
the ability of TCOs to engage in the smuggling of illegal drugs,
currency, weapons, ammunition, and people. CBP works with the
government of Mexico to deliver targeted consequence strategy through
patrols, interdictions, prosecution, investigations, and intelligence.
In fiscal year 2016, USBP and the Mexican Federal Police conducted
1,584 coordinated patrols. Additionally, bi-national operations, such
as Operation Double Threat/Blue Thunder, are innovative and mutually
beneficial mirrored patrols that are key to border security and safety
for both countries. Operation Double Threat/Blue Thunder took place
between USBP and Mexican Federal Police on April 17-30, 2016, in Sonora
and Nogales, Arizona. During the time of the operation, entries and
arrests dropped by almost 50 percent in the targeted zone, and 3,504 kg
of marijuana, 727g of cocaine and 55g of methamphetamine were seized.
On Eastern Pacific and Western Caribbean waters, CBP partners with
the USCG and the Mexican Navy (SEMAR) to conduct maritime operations on
both sides of the border and maintain a dynamic presence. For example,
AMO along with DOD's Air Forces North (AFNORTH) have partnered to
deploy International Air and Marine Operations Surveillance Systems (I-
AMOSS) to SEMAR locations. This system has proven to be an invaluable
part of their anti-cartel mission and contributes to CBP/USCG/SEMAR
joint planning. As such, efforts to expand this capability to other
SEMAR locations are under way. Moreover, AMO supports SEMAR with
Operation Albatros, providing maritime patrol aircraft over the Eastern
Pacific with a SEMAR host-nation-rider on-board acting as a mission
commander. Albatros patrols target cocaine-laden vessels transiting
from the source and transit zone to the shores of Mexico.
CBP is committed to working with the government of Mexico to
identify and prosecute TCOs, and is working with Mexico Attorney
General (PGR) to explore additional areas where CBP and the government
of Mexico can target and degrade TCOs. For example, the Operation
Against Smugglers Initiative on Safety and Security (OASISS) is a bi-
national prosecutorial program with the PGR that is focused on
combating human smuggling across the Southwest Border, by identifying
and prosecuting Mexican nationals arrested for alien smuggling in the
United States. Since the implementation of OASISS in August 2005 to
October 2016, a total of 2,556 cases have been generated in the United
States. From these cases, a total of 3,009 principals have been
presented to the government of Mexico for prosecution, and 2,196 of
those principals were accepted for prosecution. In fiscal year alone,
99 criminal cases were generated in the United States with a total of
111 principals and 70 of those principals were accepted by the
government of Mexico for prosecution.
AMOC's coordinating efforts with the government of Mexico and the
deployment of shared surveillance technology continue to enable the
government of Mexico to focus aviation and maritime enforcement efforts
to better combat TCO operations in Northern Mexico and the contiguous
U.S.-Mexico border. AMOC's joint collaboration with the government of
Mexico leverages intelligence and operational capabilities to further
both air and maritime domain awareness. During fiscal year 2016, this
improved collaboration resulted in 15 Mexico-based seizures, six of
which were mixed loads of narcotics. Smuggling events involved
aircraft, semi-submersibles, pleasure craft, and panga-type
conveyances. The most recent example of these efforts was in October
2016, when AMOC detected and tracked an aircraft to a landing in Baja
California, Mexico and alerted Mexican authorities. Mexican air and
ground forces responded and reported the seizure of a Cessna 206, one
vehicle, and 504 lbs. of methamphetamine.
In January 2016, AMO's Tucson Air Branch participated in Operation
``El Diablo Express,'' a HSI-led investigation, resulting in a multi-
agency operation that utilized HSI, DEA, FBI, Arizona DPS, Scottsdale
PD, other CBP components, and Mexican government agents. The operation
was designed to combat Mexican drug cartels operating in Sonora,
Mexico, south of Arizona. AMO air crews were instrumental in escorting
Mexican Government aircraft and personnel through Arizona airspace on
the day of mission, and provided real-time information to them as they
covertly crossed the border back into Mexico to conduct an early
morning raid on a suspected drug cartel location, leading to multiple
arrests and seizures.
It is important to acknowledge the significant strides that Mexico
has taken in recent years to address transnational organized crime
generally and narcotics smuggling specifically. Our relationship with
Mexican counterparts is stronger today than it has ever been and their
officers face the same challenges and threats that CBP experiences. We
receive information from Mexican authorities on a daily basis that
helps us better target narcotics smugglers at the border. In 2016,
CBP's commissioner participated in a high-level bilateral and
interagency security cooperation meeting in Mexico City, where senior
Mexican officials committed to working with the U.S. Government even
more closely--including expanding efforts to combat heroin cultivation,
production, and trafficking, and sharing more information on smuggling
routes and networks. CBP will continue to work in close cooperation
with our counterparts in Mexico as we seek to identify, interdict,
investigate, and prosecute TCOs.
conclusion
CBP, through collaboration and coordination with our many Federal,
State, local, Tribal, international government, and other partners, has
made great strides in protecting the integrity and security of our
borders. The investments over the years in our border security have
been valuable and have helped shape the current border environment.
Vulnerabilities have been addressed and this has led to the reduction
of illicit activity in many areas along the border. CBP continues to
maintain a vigilant watch on the changing dynamics of border security
threats.
With continued support from Congress, CBP, in coordination with our
partners, will continue to refine and further enhance the effectiveness
of our detection and interdiction capabilities to combat transnational
threats and the entry of illegal drugs into the United States.
Furthermore, through the JTFs, we will continue to work with the
intelligence community and our law enforcement partners to improve the
efficiency of information sharing with relevant partners, to guide
strategies, identify trafficking patterns and trends, develop tactics,
and execute operations to address the challenges and threats posed by
TCOs to the safety and security of the American public. The
establishment of JTFs marks a renewed commitment to seek out and
coordinate optimal, multi-component authorities, capabilities,
competencies, and partnership expertise to combat all threats to the
homeland.
Chairwoman McSally, Ranking Member Vela, and distinguished Members
of subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I look
forward to your questions.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McSally. Thank you, Commander Beeson.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Allen for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF MATTHEW C. ALLEN, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR HSI
INVESTIGATIVE PROGRAMS, HOMELAND SECURITY INVESTIGATIONS, U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Mr. Allen. Good morning, Chairwoman McSally, Ranking Member
Vela, and distinguished Members. Thank you for the opportunity
to appear before you today to discuss the threats posed by
transnational criminal organizations, and the efforts of the
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to identify, target,
investigate, disrupt, and dismantle these criminal elements.
Today I will provide ICE's perspective on the sophisticated
smuggling threats that we face on our Southwest Border, the
approaches that lead up to our border, and what we do to
address TCOs and their smuggling activities before contraband
arrives at our borders and even once it makes it to the
interior of the United States.
I have brought with me today a troubling graphic that
represents the interagency assessment of the areas of influence
of the major Mexican transnational criminal organizations in
the United States. I want to thank the Drug Enforcement
Administration for sharing that and its use today.
The Mexican cartels, notably Sinaloa, Jalisco New
Generation, Los Zetas, and the Gulf Cartels, stretch across and
beyond the Southwest Border, operating through networks and
loose affiliations with smaller organizations in cities across
the United States.
As many of you know first-hand, the Southwest Border is a
very diverse environment with vast maritime and land border
areas where the cartels have adapted their methods and the
cargo to the local environment.
From an operational point of view, this means that there is
not a single strategy, tactic, or technology that will succeed
in eliminating the smuggling threat on every part of the
Southwest Border.
To give you a sense of the variety of smuggling challenges
that we collectively face, it is important to start by talking
about the specific drug threats such as heroin, fentanyl,
cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana.
Mexican-produced heroin has become the most significant
drug consumed in the United States. The purity of Mexican-
produced heroin makes it marketable because it can be smoked or
snorted, as well as injected intravenously.
The Mexican cartels have also quickly added fentanyl to
their inventory in response to the explosion of opioid abuse in
the United States. The smugglers include fentanyl in contraband
loads also containing heroin and our methamphetamine,
reinforcing the poly drug nature of the cartels.
Mexico is a transit country for South American-sourced
cocaine, which is most exclusively seized at the ports of entry
in modified compartments of privately-owned vehicles, or deeply
concealed within commercial conveyance and cargo shipments.
The majority of methamphetamine consumed in the United
States is now produced in Mexico using precursor chemicals that
come from Asia. Methamphetamine is almost exclusively seized in
modified compartments of personally-owned vehicles. The second-
most common method of smuggling methamphetamine is by
pedestrians.
Last, marijuana which is cultivated by Mexican cartels,
makes Mexico the largest foreign supplier of marijuana to the
U.S. drug market. The majority of the marijuana seized by the
DHS agencies is seized as it is being smuggled between the
ports of entry.
When marijuana is seized at U.S. ports of entry it is most
often found concealed among commercial cargo. Recognizing that
the border in Southern California is different than the border
in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, the cartels adapt their
smuggling methods to suit a specific area, blending into normal
traffic in a given area in order to avoid law enforcement
attention.
The cartels conduct surveillance on law enforcement
operations along the border, principally focusing on U.S.
Customs and Border Protection operations at and between the
POEs.
As the Department changes its tactics and techniques or
introduces new technology and infrastructure, the cartels adapt
their operations to undermine our border security efforts.
One of the major factors allowing the cartels to sustain
their existence and proliferate is public corruption in both
Mexico and the United States. The cartels rely on corrupt
Mexican and U.S. law enforcement officials to operate and avoid
seizures and arrest.
In response to the smuggling threats along the Southwest
Border, ICE has assigned more than 1,500 special agents and 150
intelligence research specialists to our Southwest Border
offices. Additionally, ICE leads and participates in a number
of task forces focusing on investigating this criminal element.
Our relationship with Mexico has also proven to be an
important partnership in the fight against TCOs. For example,
taking down the cartels' top leadership as evidenced by the
recent extradition of Joaquin Guzman Loera, aka El Chapo,
demonstrates how binational cooperation can affect cartel
leadership.
Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you
today and for your continued support of ICE and its law
enforcement mission. ICE is committed to stemming cross-border
criminal organizations through the various efforts I have
discussed today, and I look forward to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Allen follows:]
Prepared Statement of Matthew C. Allen
February 16, 2017
Chairman McSally, Ranking Member Vela, and distinguished Members:
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss
threats posed by Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and the
efforts of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to identify,
target, investigate, disrupt, dismantle, and bring to justice these
criminal elements.
ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) leverages its broad
authority, unique investigative tools, and global footprint to secure
our borders. We work in close coordination with U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP), the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and many other domestic
and international law enforcement and customs partners to target TCOs.
Today, I will provide ICE's perspective on the sophisticated smuggling
threats that we face on our Southwest Border, the approaches that lead
up to our border and some of what we do to address TCOs and their
smuggling activities before contraband arrives at our borders, and even
in the interior of the United States.
the cartels along the southwest border
The primary TCOs that threaten the Southwest Border of the United
States are Mexican Drug cartels (the cartels). Over the last decade the
United States, working with our Mexican law enforcement and military
counterparts, has had sustained success in attacking cartel leaders, as
evidenced by the recent extradition of Joaquin Guzman Loera, aka ``El
Chapo'', to face prosecution in the United States. However, every law
enforcement success against the cartels is challenged by the fact that
the cartels are highly networked organizations with built-in
redundancies that adapt on a daily basis based on their intelligence
about U.S. border security and law enforcement.
I have brought with me today a troubling graphic that represents
the interagency assessment of where the various cartels in Mexico
operate and the ``approaches'' or ``corridors'' that each controls
along the U.S. Southwest Border. Mexican cartels, notably Sinaloa,
Jalisco New Generation, Los Zetas, and the Gulf cartels, stretch across
and beyond the Southwest Border, operating through networks and loose
affiliations with smaller organizations in cities across the United
States. The areas controlled by each cartel have evolved over time,
often as a result of U.S. or Mexican law enforcement successes that
have weakened cartel influence in certain areas, and as alliances
between cartel leadership shifts over time.
In addition to drug smuggling, another criminal threat that we face
along our Southwest Border is human smuggling. One of the questions we
are often asked is whether human smuggling organizations are part of
the cartels or operate as distinct criminal enterprises. Based on HSI
investigations and intelligence, it is our opinion that, although alien
smuggling organizations pay taxes and fees to the cartels to smuggle in
a specific geographic area, they are generally run as distinct criminal
enterprises in both Mexico and the United States. Certain members of
these criminal enterprises control the major drug markets and others
control a portion of the border on behalf of their cartel. We believe
that these drug cartel leaders and associates play a coordinating role
in the immediate border areas, dictating when and where human smugglers
will be allowed to cross the border. This coordination ensures human
smugglers and their human cargo do not bring unwanted law enforcement
attention, particularly in the United States, to their smuggling
efforts. Our investigations have shown that when human smugglers do not
heed warnings from drug smuggling organizations about where and when
they smuggle, they can be targeted for physical violence, including
murder, by cartel members.
smuggling trends along the southwest border
As many of the Members of this subcommittee know first-hand, the
Southwest Border is a very diverse environment, starting with a
maritime border in the Gulf of Mexico and on the Pacific Ocean that
transitions to vast land border areas that include rivers, rural
agricultural lands and densely populated urban areas along the nearly
2,000 miles of our border. In response to these vastly different areas,
the cartels adapt their methods and cargo to the smuggling environment.
From an operational point of view, this means that there is not a
single strategy, tactic, or technology that will succeed in eliminating
the smuggling threat on every part of the Southwest Border.
Mexico is a major source and transit country for illicit drugs
destined for the United States, including marijuana, cocaine,
methamphetamine, heroin, and, more recently, fentanyl. Intelligence
reports indicate that Mexico is not only a source country for the
production of fentanyl, it is also a transit country for fentanyl
originating from Asia. Finally, in the last two decades, Mexico has
also become the largest transit country for South American-sourced
cocaine destined for the United States.
As a result of Mexico's dominant role as either a source or transit
point for illicit drugs destined for the United States, it has also
become a primary destination for the illicit proceeds that the cartels
earn from the distribution networks in the United States. Mexican
cartels use a variety of techniques to repatriate illicit proceeds,
from bulk cash smuggling to sophisticated trade-based money laundering
schemes. Many of the more complex techniques rely on third-party money
launderers and corrupt financial institutions.
To give you a sense of the variety of smuggling challenges that we
collectively face, it is important to start by talking about the
specific drug threats, smuggling methods, and modes used across the
spectrum of the Southwest Border.
Heroin
Mexico has become the most significant source of heroin consumed in
the United States, and according to the 2016 National Drug Threat
Assessment Summary, the U.S. Government estimated that Mexican cartels'
potential production of heroin was 70 metric tons in 2015, a 66 percent
increase from 2014. The purity of Mexican-produced heroin has also
increased over time, making it more marketable because it can be smoked
or snorted as well as injected intravenously.
Fentanyl
The Mexican cartels have quickly added fentanyl to their smuggled
drugs in response to the explosion of opiate abuse in the United
States. Based on recent seizures it has been learned that smugglers are
mixing fentanyl in contraband loads also containing heroin and/or
methamphetamine, reinforcing the poly drug nature of the cartels. While
U.S. law enforcement continues to assess how much of the fentanyl
market in the United States is supported by Mexican-sourced fentanyl,
the size of individual seizures and the proximity of Mexico to the U.S.
drug market is a troubling sign.
Cocaine
Mexico is a transit country for South American-sourced cocaine.
Cocaine is almost exclusively seized at Ports of Entry (POEs) in non-
factory compartments of privately-owned vehicles (POVs). Alternatively,
the cocaine may be deeply concealed within commercial conveyances and
cargo shipments.
Methamphetamine
The majority of methamphetamine consumed in the United States is
now produced in Mexico using precursor chemicals from Asia.
Methamphetamine is almost exclusively seized in non-factory
compartments of POVs. The second most common method of smuggling
methamphetamine is by pedestrians who secrete it on their bodies or
within body cavities. Methamphetamine is seized in both crystalline and
liquid forms.
Marijuana
As I mentioned earlier, the Mexican cartels cultivate marijuana,
with Mexico being the largest foreign supplier of marijuana to the U.S.
drug market. The majority of the marijuana seized by DHS agencies is
seized as it is being smuggled between the POEs. When marijuana is
seized at U.S. POEs it is most often found concealed among commercial
cargo shipments.
Southwest Border Smuggling Methods and Related Challenges
Recognizing that the border in Southern California is different
than the border in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, the cartels adapt
their smuggling methods to suit a specific area. The unifying goal of
all smugglers is to try to blend into normal traffic in a given area in
order to avoid law enforcement attention. On a daily basis the cartels
conduct surveillance of law enforcement operations along the border,
principally focusing on CBP operations at and between the POEs. As the
Department changes its tactics and techniques, or introduces new
technology and infrastructure, the cartels adapt their operations and
probe our border security to determine the best way to accomplish their
goals.
Land Ports of Entry
At POEs along the Southwest land border, smugglers use a wide
variety of tactics and techniques for concealing drugs. Our special
agents work every day with CBP officers from the Office of Field
Operations to identify, seize, and investigate drug smuggling
organizations that attempt to exploit POEs to introduce drugs into the
United States. Within the POE environment there are three distinct
threat areas exploited by the cartels: Pedestrians; POVs; and
Commercial Cargo. Pedestrians are primarily used to smuggle cocaine,
heroin, and methamphetamine on or within their bodies. POVs are used to
smuggle cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and marijuana,
often using deep concealment methods like non-factory compartments, gas
tanks, and other voids. At Commercial POEs, the cartels utilize
commercial tractor trailers to commingle narcotics with legitimate
commercial goods or to conceal the narcotics within the tractor
trailers themselves.
The cartels also attempt to exploit CBP programs that facilitate
the expedited entry of travelers and cargo into the United States. CBP
seizures and ICE investigations have documented smuggling
organizations' attempts to exploit the Secure Electronic Network for
Travelers Rapid Inspection (SENTRI) and Free and Secure Trade (FAST)
Programs.
The cartels also use spotters/scouts and counter-surveillance
techniques both at and between the POEs in order to increase their
chances of success in smuggling ventures. Spotters/scouts watch and
report on border law enforcement activities.
Between the Ports of Entry
The cartels use the areas between the POEs primarily to smuggle
marijuana in bulk. In these areas, the cartels use a variety of
techniques that are tailored to the terrain and other environmental
factors. In Texas, the Rio Grande River creates a natural barrier that
poses unique challenges for the U.S. Border Patrol.
Outside of urban areas along the land border, one tactic used by
the cartels is vehicle incursions, or ``drive-throughs,'' whereby
smugglers breach the border by either going over or through border
fences. Smugglers move vehicles over the fence using ramps or, on more
rare occasions, lift vehicles over the fence using cranes. Going
through the fence involves cutting fence panels and lifting them up or
creating a gate in the fence allowing a vehicle to pass through.
Vehicle incursions often rely on networks of scouts that are staged on
the area's highest points to warn them of U.S. Border Patrol or other
law enforcement presence.
In areas where the cartels cannot conduct vehicle incursions, they
have experimented with ways to throw or launch marijuana bundles over
the fence to co-conspirators waiting in the United States. Recently, we
have seen cartel attempts to use air or propane cannons to launch
bundles of marijuana weighing more than a hundred pounds over the
border fence.
Another tactic cartels use in remote areas between the POEs is to
have backpackers carry bundles of marijuana on their backs using
improvised backpacks made of burlap or other materials. Backpackers
often travel in groups and have been known to travel for days before
getting to pre-designated locations where they are picked up by other
members of the organization in the United States.
Smuggling by general aviation aircraft from Mexico has not been a
significant threat since the late 1990's. However, in the last decade
we have seen the cartels experiment with the use of ultralight aircraft
to smuggle marijuana in Arizona and eastern California. More recently
we have also seen the cartels experiment with the use of small
recreational drones to smuggle very small quantities of drugs, often
just a couple of pounds.
In 1990 the first cross-border tunnel was discovered in Douglas,
Arizona. Since that time a total of 194 tunnels (both completed and in
progress) have been located along the Southwest Border, primarily in
Arizona and Southern California. The discovery of illicit subterranean
tunnels is evidence that smugglers are moving away from traditional
smuggling techniques due to enhanced law enforcement efforts. In
recognition of the significant smuggling threat present in Arizona and
San Diego, ICE leads two Tunnel Task Forces in San Diego and Nogales
under the auspices of the Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST)
Program, described in more detail below.
Maritime Smuggling
As infrastructure, technology, and staffing have been added to the
border in the San Diego area, we have seen an increase in maritime
smuggling of marijuana from Mexico to California coastal areas north of
San Diego. The cartels use pleasure boats or small commercial fishing
vessels known as ``pangas'' that are able to achieve relatively high
speeds under the cover of darkness to attempt to evade detection by CBP
and USCG surface patrol vessels and patrol aircraft. Bulk quantities of
cocaine are seized along the maritime approaches to our border during
the transportation phase through either the Eastern Pacific Ocean or
the Caribbean Sea prior to being broken down into much smaller loads
for transport along land routes through Central America and Mexico.
Corruption
One of the major factors allowing the cartels to sustain their
existence and proliferate is public corruption in both Mexico and the
United States. In Mexico, the cartels rely on corrupt Mexican law
enforcement and other public officials at every level of government to
operate. U.S. law enforcement is not immune to corruption by the
cartels, who have used corrupt law enforcement officers from CBP, ICE,
and other Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies to avoid
seizures and arrests.
attacking transnational criminal organizations (tco s)
In response to the smuggling threat along the Southwest Border, we
have assigned more than 1,500 special agents and almost 150
intelligence research specialists to our Southwest Border offices.
In fiscal year 2016, HSI drug smuggling investigations conducted by
the five HSI Special Agent in Charge Southwest Border offices resulted
in 5,659 criminal arrests, 3,941 indictments, 3,383 convictions, and
330 administrative immigration arrests. We have continued to
collaborate with our partners in Federal, State, and local law
enforcement agencies to identify, target, investigate, disrupt, and
dismantle the cartels. The following is a list of the various
initiatives we use to combat TCOs:
DHS Joint Task Forces
In 2015 the Secretary of DHS created three Joint Task Forces (JTFs)
to address the smuggling threats identified in the Southern Border and
Approaches Campaign Plan. Two of the JTFs, JTF-East (JTF-E) and JTF-
West (JTF-W), are geographically-focused task forces that concentrate
on the southern land and maritime border of the United States and the
approaches to our border all the way to Central and South America. HSI
has provided Senior Executives to serve as the Deputy Directors of JTF-
E and JTF-W, as well as staff-level support in the JTF-E and
JTF-W Joint Staffs.
ICE has been designated as the executive agent for the third Joint
Task Force, Joint Task Force Investigations (JTF-I), with other DHS
components supporting. JTF-I is a joint, integrated, ``functional''
task force that has the responsibility of targeting top-tier criminal
investigations and supporting JTF-E and JTF-W. The success of JTF-I in
these diverse environments depends upon a high level of cooperation
among HSI and our Federal, State, local, and foreign partners in
consolidating resources and leveraging unique international maritime
authorities in combating TCOs.
Border Enforcement Security Task Forces (BEST)
Our BEST units employ a threat-based/risk mitigation investigative
task force model that recognizes the unique resources and capabilities
of all participating law enforcement partners. This model enables each
unit to apply a comprehensive approach to combating TCOs, while
recognizing the distinctive circumstances and threats facing the
various border environments, be it land borders, seaports, or airports.
Additionally, BEST units are designed to incorporate other DHS-partner
agencies, including CBP and the Transportation Security Administration,
and are vehicles for establishing unity of effort, the cornerstone of a
successful DHS mission. BEST units further solidify HSI's role as the
primary investigative entity for DHS.
We continue to expand the BEST program, which currently operates in
44 locations throughout the United States. BEST leverages more than
1,000 Federal, State, local, and foreign law enforcement agents and
officers representing over 100 law enforcement agencies. BEST also
provides a co-located space that allows for collaboration in conducting
intelligence-driven investigations aimed at identifying, disrupting,
and dismantling TCOs that operate in the air, land, and sea
environments. In fiscal year 2016, the BEST program accounted for 3,710
criminal arrests, 991 administrative arrests, and prosecutors obtained
2,248 indictments and 1,923 convictions.
Money-Laundering Efforts
The cartels move illicit proceeds, hide assets, and conduct
transactions globally. Among the various methods cartels use to
transfer and launder their illicit proceeds are bulk cash smuggling,
trade-based money laundering, funnel accounts and professional money
launderers, and misuse of money service businesses (MSB) and emerging
payment systems. The cartels exploit vulnerabilities in the financial
system and conduct layered financial transactions to circumvent
regulatory scrutiny, which presents difficulties for authorities
attempting to distinguish between licit and illicit use of the
financial system. HSI has refined our ability to target money-
laundering and financial violations through various techniques, to
include interagency investigations, training and capacity-building,
targeted financial sanctions, and direct engagement with at-risk
financial institutions and jurisdictions.
U.S. Anti-Money Laundering laws and regulations impose customer
identification, recordkeeping, and reporting obligations on covered
financial institutions that help deter criminals from moving illicit
proceeds through the financial system. These preventive measures also
create valuable evidentiary trails for law enforcement to employ during
an investigation. As such, HSI has an abundance of investigative tools
in our arsenal to disrupt and dismantle cartel money laundering
operations as well as to discourage new actors from engaging in illicit
activity.
Our National Bulk Cash Smuggling Center (BCSC), located in
Burlington, Vermont, generates long-term, multi-jurisdictional bulk
cash investigations by analyzing incident reports and conducting
intelligence-driven operational support to field offices. When
contacted by Federal, State, and local law enforcement for support, the
BCSC assists that jurisdiction as much as possible by engaging the full
scope of its law enforcement intelligence data sources and referring
requests for assistance to local HSI field offices for immediate
response. Since its inception in August 2009, the BCSC has initiated or
substantially contributed to over 1,428 investigative leads, which have
yielded 1,182 criminal arrests, 747 indictments, 546 State or Federal
convictions, and seizures of bulk cash totaling over $326.5 million.
HIDTA--High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Forces
The High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Program was
initiated in 1990 by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
in order to designate certain geographical areas as having especially
high concentrations of drug trafficking activities such as
distribution, transportation, and smuggling. The HIDTA Program provides
these areas with Federal funding, which supports coordinated law
enforcement counter drug efforts.
The ONDCP designates geographic areas as HIDTAs and allocates
Federal resources to establish formal cooperative law enforcement
efforts between local, State, and Federal drug enforcement agencies.
HSI, using its combined immigration and customs authorities, leads
several HIDTA initiatives along the Southwest Border.
The OCDETF Program allows our Special Agents to partner and
collaborate in investigations using our unique and far-reaching
authorities to enforce and regulate the movement of carriers, persons,
and commodities between the United States and other nations. We have
dedicated personnel on all 11 OCDETF co-located Strike Forces. These
Strike Forces logically extend the OCDETF program beyond the creation
of prosecutor-led task forces that join together on case-specific
efforts and then disband at the end of the investigation. Now,
permanent task force teams work together to conduct intelligence-
driven, multi-jurisdictional operations against the continuum of
priority targets. We also participate in the OCDETF Fusion Center,
which support investigations of TCOs through interagency coordination.
International Partners and Cooperation
ICE HSI works closely with our Federal law enforcement and
international partners to disrupt and dismantle TCOs. We have 63
offices in 47 countries and are uniquely positioned to utilize
established relationships with host country law enforcement, to include
the engagement of Transnational Criminal Investigative Units (TCIUs).
These TCIUs are composed of DHS-trained host country counterparts who
have the authority to investigate and enforce violations of law in
their respective countries. Since our law enforcement officers working
overseas do not possess general law enforcement or investigative
authority in most host countries, the use of these TCIUs enables ICE to
promote direct action in its investigative leads while respecting the
sovereignty of the host country and cultivating international
partnerships. These efforts, often thousands of miles from the U.S.-
Mexico border in countries like Colombia and Panama, essentially act as
an outer layer of security for our Southwest Border.
Working with Mexican Authorities
Mexico has proven to be an outstanding partner in the fight against
TCOs, taking down the cartels' top leadership and helping in efforts to
dismantle these organizations. ICE's attache Office in Mexico City is
the largest ICE presence outside of the United States. ICE has
coordinated the establishment of TCIUs in Mexico comprised of Mexican
law enforcement officers. Through our attache in Mexico City and
associated sub-offices, HSI assists in efforts to combat transnational
drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, human smuggling, and money-
laundering syndicates in Mexico. ICE attache personnel work daily with
Mexican authorities to combat these transnational threats.
Additionally, ICE--along with other DHS components--actively works
through the Department of State to provide training and technical
assistance to our Mexican counterparts. The spirit of collaboration and
joint effort between DHS components and our counterparts in Mexico is
unprecedented.
conclusion
Thank you again for the opportunity to appear before you today and
for your continued support of ICE and its law enforcement mission. ICE
is committed to stemming cross-border criminal organizations through
the various efforts I have discussed today. I appreciate your interest
in these important issues.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Ms. McSally. Thank you Mr. Allen.
The Chair now recognizes Ambassador Arreaga for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF LUIS E. ARREAGA, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT
SECRETARY, BUREAU OF INTERNATIONAL NARCOTICS AND LAW
ENFORCEMENT AFFAIRS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Mr. Arreaga. Thank you very much. Chairwoman McSally,
Ranking Member Vela, distinguished Members of the subcommittee,
thank you for the opportunity to appear before you to discuss
the Department of State's efforts to combat transnational
organized crime in the Western Hemisphere.
With your permission, I have a formal statement which I
would like to submit for the record.
As this committee knows well, transnational crime
undermines our border security, inflicts harms in our
communities and threatens the rule of law. The Department of
State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
Affairs, INL, which I have the honor to represent, leads our
country's efforts to combat crime overseas.
We do this by supporting U.S. law enforcement agencies'
efforts to strengthen the capacity of partner governments'
criminal justice system. The fact is that we need strong and
effective partners overseas to combat narcotics and production
and trafficking.
We advance our efforts through four partnerships, the
Merida Initiative, the Central America Regional Security
Initiative, the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, and our
long-standing partnership with Colombia.
Under the Merida Initiative, we are working to strengthen
the capacity of Mexican institutions to identify, investigate,
and dismantle criminal networks to uphold the rule of law and
to protect our shared border.
Since 2007, the United States has delivered nearly $1.6
billion in assistance. This includes inspection and detection
equipment, which is now deployed along Mexico's border, as well
as training and equipping to enhance the capacity of Mexican
officials to identify and dismantle clandestine drug
laboratories and to carry out complex investigations of
organized crime.
Our investments, and I emphasize this, have fostered
unprecedented collaboration between American and Mexican law
enforcement authorities. In Central America, violence from
gangs and other drug trafficking criminal networks are driving
citizens to leave their home in search of safety, opportunity,
and family living abroad.
Many travel through Mexico in an attempt to reach the
United States. Our programs in Central America help governments
strengthen border security and fight narcotraffickers,
transnational gangs, and human smugglers.
In 2016, Central American security units, many of which are
supported by U.S. law enforcement agencies, reported seizing
over 116 metric tons of cocaine. On the corruption front,
Honduras fired nearly 2,000 corrupt police officers, while in
Guatemala the attorney general is bringing corruption charges
against former and current high-level government officials.
In the Caribbean, approximately 10 percent of cocaine
movement is destined for the United States transit region. Our
program supports maritime interdiction by training and
equipping law enforcement agencies in partner countries. In
2015, reported cocaine seizures in partner countries reached 24
metric tons, a 152 percent increase over the previous years.
Let me conclude with Colombia. Colombia remains the world's
largest producer of cocaine and is the origin of approximately
90 percent of the amount seized in the United States.
In light of the troubling increase in coca cultivation
since 2013, we know that we need to deepen our collaboration
with our Colombian partners. The good news is that Colombia,
with our support, has intensified their interdiction efforts.
In fact, cocaine seizures increased 42 percent in 2016.
The Colombian government has been our steadfast partner in
the fight against crime and narcotics since before the start of
Plan Colombia in 1999. We are confident that this partnership
will endure.
Let me close by reiterating our commitment to continue
working with our partner governments to protect our homeland.
But it must be said that achieving lasting change will be
neither easy nor quick. We are encouraged however by results to
date and remain confident that a sustained investment will
benefit the security of the United States.
Chairwoman McSally, Ranking Member Vela, again, thank you
for the opportunity to appear before you today. I look forward
to your questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Arreaga follows:]
Prepared Statement of Luis E. Arreaga
February 16, 2017
Chairwoman McSally, Ranking Member Vela, distinguished Members of
the subcommittee: Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you
today to discuss the work of the Department of State's Bureau of
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) to combat
transnational organized crime and drug cartels in the Western
Hemisphere. As this subcommittee knows well, the United States is
deeply affected by crime and violence perpetuated by transnational
criminal organizations, including drug cartels, whose smuggling
networks undermine our border security, inflict harm in our
communities, and threatens the stability of our allies in the region.
Today, the trafficking by drug cartels of illicit fentanyl, heroin, and
other opioids into this country is fueling a National epidemic with
fatal consequences. The CDC reports between 2000 and 2015, the rate of
heroin-related overdose deaths in the United States more than
quadrupled. The impact of transnational crime is felt, too, by American
businesses and financial institutions who suffer when crime disrupts
legitimate commercial sectors, depriving workers of a level playing
field to compete globally. The cartels that operate today are more
fluid, more nimble, more diverse than ever before and effectively
combatting them requires a comprehensive, committed, and well-
coordinated approach.
INL leads the Department's efforts to combat transnational
organized crime by strengthening the capacity of foreign governments'
law enforcement and criminal justice systems, combatting narcotics
production and trafficking, and fighting corruption. Our efforts abroad
complement those of, and are closely coordinated with, the efforts of
our U.S. interagency colleagues, including those represented here today
from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), U.S. Customs and Border Protection
(CBP), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
INL does not approach today's challenges at point zero. Decades of
experience and lessons learned teach us that eradicating drug crops in
Latin America, in and of itself, is not sufficient; it must be coupled
with robust alternative development efforts in order to take hold over
the long term. In addition, the growing threat of synthetic drugs like
fentanyl--which are not produced from illicit crops--limits the
effectiveness of eradication on today's drug threat. Interdiction is
critical to reducing the flow of drugs to our communities, but
traffickers adapt quickly and shift their routes and methods. Taking
down the leadership of cartels and other criminal organizations
disrupts drug flows in the short-term, but also often exacerbates
violence and leaves room for criminals to vie for power. To address
these challenges, INL executes two mutually supportive lines of effort-
building cross-border law enforcement cooperation and building
stronger, more transparent criminal justice systems. To deny safe
havens to criminal networks, INL assistance strengthens governments'
ability to enforce their laws and to serve as reliable, trusted
partners to U.S. law enforcement. INL programming throughout the
hemisphere, including in Mexico, Colombia, Central America, and the
Caribbean, is guided by this two-pronged approach, coupling law
enforcement efforts to deny transnational criminal organizations the
ability to operate, with building stronger, more accountable
institutions that reduce corruption and bring criminals to justice.
Building strong, effective institutions capable of confronting and
stopping transnational organized crime before it reaches U.S. borders
is a long-term endeavor that requires a sustained commitment. Cartel
operations today present a complex set of national security challenges
that do not lend themselves to simple solutions but the strategic
approach we have put in place provides a solid foundation for
strengthening security over time.
mexico
The flow of illicit narcotics across our shared border with Mexico
threatens citizen security in both countries. Mexico is the primary
source country for heroin and methamphetamine consumed in the United
States and a key transit country for cocaine from South America. Since
2008, under the Merida Initiative, the $1.9 billion appropriated for
International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) funding has
provided training, equipment, and technical assistance to complement
Mexico's much larger investment in building the capacity of Mexican
institutions to counter organized crime, uphold the rule of law, and
protect our shared border from the movement of illicit drugs, money,
and goods. This includes more than $130 million in fixed and mobile
non-intrusive inspection equipment and related detection devices
provided at Mexico's border crossings, checkpoints, and ports of entry,
and for which CBP, USCG, and ICE provided training and technical
assistance. INL provided over 500 canines to Mexican law enforcement
and military units--many of which CBP helped to train--to ensure they
have a vital, sustainable capability to detect, interdict, and deter
the illicit movement of illegal drugs, cash, and other contraband
headed for the United States. Under Merida, INL works closely with ICE,
CBP, the USCG, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to
train and equip Mexican law enforcement officials to identify and
safely dismantle clandestine drug laboratories used to produce
methamphetamine, heroin, and synthetic drugs and to better track and
prevent the shipping of precursor chemicals used to manufacture these
drugs. From April 2014 to September 2015, Mexico seized over 1,346
metric tons (MT) of marijuana (a 45 percent increase from this period
2013 to 2014), two MT of opium gum (a 43 percent increase), 26.5 MT of
methamphetamine (a 74 percent increase), 10.2 MT of cocaine (a 183
percent increase) and 653 kg of heroin and closed 272 clandestine
laboratories (a 90 percent increase). Included in these statistics is
238.9 MT of illicit drugs Mexico seized using equipment and resources
provided through the Merida Initiative. Mexican security forces have
also carried out a series of successful raids of methamphetamine
laboratories in recent months and made significant arrests in
confrontations with drug trafficking organizations.
Our programs also strengthen the intelligence analysis and
investigative capabilities of Mexican law enforcement agencies to carry
out complex investigations against organized crime. Merida provides
equipment and training to Mexico's specialized law enforcement units
that combat kidnapping, money laundering, human trafficking, and
narcotics trafficking. Strengthening these units diminishes drug
trafficking organizations' funding sources. Over $300 million of
targeted assistance via Merida supported Mexico's reforms to its
justice system across every facet of the criminal justice system,
including police, prosecutors, judges, and corrections. When fully
implemented, Mexico's reformed accusatory justice system will more
effectively reduce corruption and impunity and bring transnational
criminals to justice. In coordination with Mexican authorities, Merida
programming continues to expand to address shared challenges. Our U.S.
investment has fostered unprecedented collaboration with Mexico's
national security actors to address irregular migration and stem the
flow of illegal drugs. In partnership with DHS, we are currently
contributing $78 million to the development of a communications network
and $75 million to a national biometric system to enhance the ability
of Mexican officials to apprehend criminals and share critical
information with U.S. law enforcement before a threat reaches the
United States. We also partner with ICE and CBP to train and mentor
Mexican migration and customs officials. Under Merida, the United
States is an essential partner in Mexico's reform efforts to address
criminal organizations and insecurity that affect Mexico and the United
States.
central america
In Central America, gangs perpetuate violence and foster conditions
that drive people to leave their homes in search of safety,
opportunity, and family abroad, often traveling through Mexico in an
attempt to reach the United States. Under the Central America Regional
Security Initiative (CARSI) as part of our overall Central America
Strategy, INL programs assist governments in their fight against
narcotraffickers, transnational gangs, and human smugglers by assisting
Central American nations in improving investigative and border security
capacity. The result is a more stable and prosperous Central America.
We are helping Central American governments seize record levels of
narcotics and build justice institutions throughout the region which
are strong enough to prosecute, convict, and imprison criminals. An
estimated 90 percent of documented northbound cocaine movements transit
the Central America and Mexico corridor before reaching the United
States. To target this threat, INL works with U.S. interagency and
international partners to train, advise, and equip police task forces,
vetted units, and maritime law enforcement. In 2016, Central American
governments seized over 116 metric tons of cocaine. Many of the
seizures were conducted by police units and security forces vetted or
supported by INL, working in coordination with CBP, ICE, the DEA, and
FBI. INL is also increasing its partnership with the USCG to more
effectively interdict maritime routes often used to transport illicit
goods. Corruption and limited partner government resources and capacity
continue to pose challenges in the fight against narcotics trafficking
and other forms of transnational crime, but we are seeing positive
developments. In Honduras, an INL-supported police vetting program
dismissed 1,946 corrupt officers, and is continuing to conduct
investigations. In Guatemala, the Attorney General is bringing
corruption charges against former and current high-level government
officials.
This is a unique moment in our relationship with these countries.
Goverments in Central America are increasingly willing to work with the
United States to arrest and extradite drug traffickers. INL will
continue to leverage this strong political will to effectively target
the most at-risk people and places, and to help the governments extend
their presence and services. Drug trafficking is a major source of
revenue for organized crime groups in Central America and irregular
migration is again on the rise. INL is addressing the underlying
conditions driving irregular migration through crime prevention and
community policing programs, while strengthening border security, and
disrupting human smuggling and trafficking networks to minimize the
impact on the U.S. Government and Americans.
caribbean
Approximately 10 percent of documented cocaine movements from the
source zone to the United States transit the Caribbean. Through the
Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), INL supports countries with
the training and equipping of vetted maritime law enforcement
interdiction units. These efforts contribute to increased drug
interdictions, particularly in the waters surrounding the Dominican
Republic, helping to stop the flow of drugs before they reach the
United States. Cocaine seizures in all CBSI countries increased 152
percent, from 9.6 metric tons in 2014 to 24.3 metric tons in 2015.
colombia
Colombia is the world's largest producer of cocaine and is the
origin of approximately 90 percent of the cocaine seized in the United
States. As cocaine makes the long journey from Colombia to the United
States, it fuels violence and instability as is passes through the
transit zones of Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Between
2013 and 2015, we witnessed a troubling increase in the amount of coca
cultivated in Colombia--an increase of nearly 100 percent.
Unfortunately, we expect this updward trend to continue. Working hand-
in-hand with our Colombian partners, INL assistance supports the
government of Colombia in its robust interdiction efforts against
trafficking organizations and criminal networks on land and at sea;
last year alone, the Colombian government reported seizing 421 metric
tons of cocaine and cocaine base, a 42 percent increase over 2015, and
the destruction of more than 4,800 drug labs.
However, we must do more to combat the tremendous growth of coca
cultivation in Colombia. Together with our Colombian partners, we must
increase forced eradication and provide for crop substitution and
robust rural development. Now, at a time the Colombian government is
implementing a peace accord with the FARC, we have an important
opportunity to work with the Colombian government on focused
counternarcotics support. We understand they are reassigning police and
military units to increase eradication of coca. To restrict the ability
of transnational criminal organizations, narcotics producers and
traffickers from continuing to operate in the rural regions of the
country, we must also continue our long-term efforts to support the
expansion of Colombia's rule of law. The Colombian government has been
our steadfast partner in the fight against crime and narcotics since
before the start of Plan Colombia in 1999. We are confident that we
will continue to effectively work together to tackle the considerable
challenges before us.
conclusion
Achieving lasting change is not easy, nor quick, but INL has
programs and partnerships that, over time and with concerted effort,
work to keep us safer by strengthening the capacity of our foreign
partners to combat transnational organized crime before it reaches U.S.
borders.
Ms. McSally. Thank you Ambassador Arreaga.
I now recognize myself for 5 minutes for questions and
since we started late I am going to start off by yielding to my
vice chair, Mr. Hurd from Texas, and I will go at the end of
our colleagues.
Mr. Hurd. Thank you, Chairwoman. And to our esteemed
panelists, appreciate you all being here today and for all the
work that you and the men and women in your organizations do. I
recognize the difficulty of the task.
Admiral Ray, my first question is to you. In your opening
remarks, you talked about how 30 percent of the intelligence is
action on this high confidence intelligence. What would you
need to get that number to 100?
Admiral Ray. Sir, thank you for the question. I don't know
if we will ever get it to 100, but to raise it to the levels
that we would like to see it, it is pretty straightforward. You
need more Coast Guard cutters on the water and the package that
goes with them, the airborne use of force helicopter, the
overhead maritime patrol aircraft.
When you raise that number--right now, our current numbers
down in that transition region are about 6.0 cutter presence
and usually we have four airborne use-of-force helicopters. So
that is why we are able to action the 30 percent to raise it
up.
You double that and you would make a pretty good dent. That
is why our off-shore patrol cutter program which is a
recapitalization is so important for that.
Mr. Hurd. Can you give us some context of how it would--you
know, let us say, you were able to double your resources. How
long would it take to actually make that operational?
Admiral Ray. Well, once we put the resources in theater,
sir, the long pole in the tent is building the ships out. The
first off-shore patrol cutters we have--with the support of the
Congress, we have got it on our budget--or excuse me--on
contract, and she will be commissioned in 2021. That is a fleet
of 25.
Now, there are more bills to pay on that, and that is why
we appreciate your support in advance. Soon as they are
commissioned we put them down range. That is our highest
priority mission area or one of our highest.
Mr. Hurd. We have the folks? We have the people?
Admiral Ray. Well, they would come with the ships, sir. We
would be recruiting those and building the forces as the ships
came on-line.
Mr. Hurd. Good. Copy. My next question is to Chief Beeson
and Mr. Allen. My sense is that when it comes to, let us call
it the ground war, we are having the opposite issue that we
have on the seas, where the level of intelligence that is
coming out of the TCOs and the groups operating from in Mexico
and the rest of Central America can be increased.
I have always said that when you look at the 19 criminal
organizations that are operating in Mexico alone, that we are
not making them a National intelligence priority. Do you
disagree with that assessment? Would you like to see more NSA
collection, more CIA collection on the threat in order to drive
your operations?
Chief Beeson, I will let you go first.
Chief Beeson. Thank you, Congressman. We do work with the
intelligence community to get information. So my experience
most recently has been as the chief of the Tucson sector and as
the commander of that task force there in Tucson.
We have been able to synthesize, if you will, if that is
the right word, the intelligence that we received from the
intelligence community and then take action against it.
We work very closely with Homeland Security Investigations.
They have personnel assigned to our facility where we handle
that type of information.
When there is an interdiction based on that type of
information that we have been able to do parallel construction
on and such, we will hand that off to them and they will, of
course, take it to fruition with regard to the investigation.
We are always looking for ways to improve on our
intelligence capabilities and that is something that we
continue to work at is to get better and better at the
intelligence.
Mr. Hurd. Mr. Allen, what would be helpful to improve the
intelligence collection?
Mr. Allen. I would, you know, echo Chief Beeson's comments.
You know, we work on a daily basis with the intelligence
community. No one is going to turn down any more assistance or
more information.
I think our biggest challenge, and I think what we, you
know, what we are seeing in our investigations that we have
that I think the ICE could really help us with is what I would
call network identification and identifying the networks that
are out there.
More and more, I think the challenges that we face is the
ability to kind-of illuminate the network and figure out and
connect people and events in ways that we could use, you know,
prosecution.
I think, you know, there has always been a challenge in
turning intelligence into evidence because in the end, you
know, our primary focus is criminal investigations and our goal
is to present cases for prosecution.
While it is great to know and there is a not-so-fine-line
difference between intelligence and evidence, in our world we
need to be able to turn intelligence into evidence.
Mr. Hurd. Good copy. Thank you.
I yield back.
Ms. McSally. Thanks. The Chair now recognizes the Ranking
Member Vela for 5 minutes.
Mr. Vela. Thank you.
Admiral Ray, just want to point out that your personnel
have been tremendous over the last 4 years, as I have been on
this committee. There is nothing like seeing it for yourself,
and they have consistently worked with our office and reached
out to show us what they do.
I would just, you know, let you know that with respect to
our newer Members, to the extent that you can do the same thing
in the regions that they represent, that it is a very helpful
experience. Thanks for everything you do.
I think my first question is for Chief Beeson and Mr.
Arreaga, and if you could comment, you referred to the
eradication efforts in Colombia.
If you could maybe go first Chief Beeson, just generally
summarize where we are with respect to eradication efforts in
Colombia and the other two South American countries where we
see cocaine production? Then maybe briefly comment on that as
it pertains to poppy production in Mexico.
Chief Beeson. So the Border Patrol, Customs and Border
Protection, we are really working on the capability. So what we
are doing is working to interdict the narcotics, the
contraband, things like that, that are being smuggled across
the border.
We are not heavily involved in eradication and so----
Mr. Vela. So maybe this is a better question----
Chief Beeson [continuing]. I am going to punt to the State
Department.
Mr. Vela. Yes, I was going to suggest that.
Mr. Arreaga. Yes. On the issue of coca plantings in
Colombia, indeed there has been a doubling of the area
cultivated since 2013. This is the result of a number of
factors. No. 1, there was a WHO report which the Colombian
courts used to ask for the end of aerial eradication. That is
one reason.
Another very important reason is as our aerial eradication
continues quite successfully, the coca planters took
countermeasures to cultivate in areas where aerial eradication
was made difficult, to plant it in areas where aerial
eradication was not allowed. But for instance, some of the
indigenous areas, some of the border areas, some of the
mountain areas.
Then the third factor is that we believe the FARC actually
encourage farmers to plant, anticipating that perhaps there was
going to be a peace process where coca farmers would be
compensated for eradicating their crops. So those are the main
reasons as to why there was an increase.
Nonetheless, the Colombian authorities are very much
committed to eradicate manually, to eradicate voluntarily. We
are in very intense conversations with them to figure out how
we can support those efforts.
There is also the interdiction part, but that refers mostly
to the actual action to produce cocaine.
Mr. Vela. Well, and in the future, I think what I would
like to do is explore that issue and compare eradication
efforts in the other countries and, for example, pocket
production in Mexico.
But I will go ahead and move to my next question for Mr.
Allen, but I think this is something perhaps probably deserving
of a hearing in and of itself.
But Mr. Allen, my question for you is how would you, with
respect to our cooperative efforts in Mexico and with law
enforcement in Mexico and the United States, how would you
describe the State of that cooperative effort today? What would
you like to see in the future?
Mr. Allen. I think the one word answer is ``good,'' and I
would expand on it by saying ``growing.'' You know, I talked
earlier about, you know, our goal being criminal investigations
and criminal prosecutions.
The largest HSI presence outside the United States is
actually in Mexico. That is where we have the largest number of
agents deployed internationally.
I think if we are going to become more effective and impact
the TCOs and the cartels in particular, we need to grow that
presence and the relationships that we have with the Mexican
Federal police, with Mexican customs, with the Mexican
military, and ANOME in Mexico that focuses on migration through
Mexico to the United States.
So, you know, we have a good relationship, but we need to
continue to work to grow it.
Mr. Vela. Real quickly Chief Beeson, on the trends on the
TCO chart of the influence of Mexican TCOs across the United
States, I know it looks like the Sinaloa Cartel has quite a
presence along the East Coast. Can you tell us about that? How
do they extend that deeply?
Chief Beeson. I have got to remember the button. It is
through the use of networks. They are leveraging their
networks, the transportation infrastructure.
Ms. McSally. OK.
The Chair will now recognize other Members of the
subcommittee for questions they have for the witnesses. In
accordance with the committee rules and practice, I plan to
recognize a Member present at the start of the hearing by
seniority on the subcommittee. Those coming in later will be
recognized in order of arrival.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Rutherford from Florida.
Mr. Rutherford. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you panel
for being here today. Thank you for all the service that you
have provided in the past and will in the future to keep our
country safe.
I want to shift the focus just a little bit though if I
could? Admiral Ray, you know, we have talked a lot about the
drugs and the harm that that brings to our country. But also,
the United States Coast Guard interdicted several migrants from
former Eastern Bloc countries in fiscal year 2015 and 2016.
Could you please discuss how it is not just South and
Central Americans that these cartels are smuggling into the
United States, but also people from other countries?
In addition to that, could you address the potential of
foreign terrorists utilizing these cartels to utilize the
maritime domain to gain entry to the United States and do us
harm?
Admiral Ray. Thank you, Congressman Rutherford. Thank you
for your years in law enforcement service, sir.
Mr. Rutherford. Thank you.
Admiral Ray. It is an honor to take a question from you.
The Coast Guard last year, we interdicted over 6,000 primarily
Cubans at sea and they were in the straits of Florida and
certainly in the eastern approaches to Florida. A few, a
handful over on the West Coast, which was a big year. The
biggest year since 1994.
Like I say, it is primarily Cubans. With regards to what we
call special interest aliens, those from countries associated
with terrorism, small numbers in the maritime approaches right
now. You know, less than 20 over the course, each year of the
last couple of years. So not a great threat vector there at
present.
However, to address your, kind-of, the real question is,
are these transnational criminal organizations capable and
would they? There is no doubt in my mind.
They are sophisticated smuggling organizations, which start
in the southern reaches of our hemisphere, and as the chief
addressed and the graphics addressed, go all the way to New
York City. They work for profit, and I don't think they check
passports before they pick people up. So I think they will do
anything for a profit.
We have not seen evidence of terrorist connections right
now, Congressman. But I don't think anybody is--we must
maintain vigilance on that. So with that.
With regards to people from other nations that are not
special interest, sir, we get them. Just last week, we had a
boat seized off of the Bahamas en route to the United States
that had a dozen Chinese people on-board.
Mr. Rutherford. Well.
Admiral Ray. So the tales of these migrants that come from
all over the world trying to get to America, there are plenty
of them.
Mr. Rutherford. See, and I think the potential, Admiral,
highlights the fact that Mr. Hurd brought up earlier about the
gap that is created between our abilities now and the
recapitalization of the fleet and your capabilities down the
road. We certainly have a gap there.
That is one reason I want to salute, Madam Chairman, the
United States Navy who made the decision just yesterday to
locate the MQ4C Triton Program in Jacksonville at the Mayport
Naval Station, which will give us that unmanned aerial vehicle
capability that I hope will certainly be used to fill some of
that gap that was created when the Navy did away with their
frigate program which, you know, certainly increased the gap.
So, I bring that up to also ask, kind-of following up on
Mr. Hurd's question, I know that the President has made it
clear that one of his top priorities will be rebuilding the
Navy to 350-plus ships but I believe this effort also should
include the U.S. Coast Guard. That is why I think you are here
today.
As Secretary Kelly told us during the full committee
hearing, many of your ships are very, very old. In fact the
Valiant in Jacksonville, I think, is 50 years old. But one of
those ships--can you give us your--I know you talked about this
a little earlier but, how long will it be before we get those
25? Is that wasn't the 2019 you were talking about, correct?
Admiral Ray. Yes, sir. Well, thanks for the question. The
off-shore patrol cutter, we have got them under contract now,
and it is a multi-year contract. The first one is supposed to
be commissioned in 2021.
So we are maintaining our medium-endurance cutters. As you
said, some of them, in fact, almost all of them are older than
the parents of the young men and women that are serving on
them. That is just kind-of a data point.
So we have got other medium-endurance cutters that are
averaging in the 35-year length. We will be able to stretch
those out for another 15 years until we get on-board. That is
why our off-shore patrol cutter is so important to get back in
service, or to get in service.
Mr. Rutherford. Thank you. I certainly hope that the Triton
program will be of great assistance to you as well.
Thank you Madam Chair, and I yield back.
Ms. McSally. This Chair now recognizes Mr. Correa from
California for 5 minutes.
Mr. Correa. Thank you, Madam Chair. First of all,
gentleman, I appreciate your being here today. I represent
Southern California. I am a father of four children. So to me,
drugs and keeping that poison away from our children is top
priority. I have been blessed. My children have avoided those
scourges, but a lot of my neighbors have not.
You know, drugs are something we can all agree on stopping
from getting to our communities. Yet as I look at our Mexican
border, when I was State senator I chaired the California
Mexico Select Committee. You begin to realize the tremendous,
huge trading partnership that we have with Mexico, our biggest
or second-biggest trading partner that we have in the world.
That border is the most traveled cross-border in the world.
I have always advocated for smart borders, meaning you can
check folks, you can check merchandise before it gets to the
border so we can make sure things flow smoothly, effectively,
and we stop the negativity.
Vice Admiral Ray, you said something that really bothered
me, and that is that you had intelligence on 500 events--500
events--and you did not have the assets to stop them from
possibly reaching our shores. So I am going to repeat the same
question that has been asked of you is, what do you need and
where?
As I look at that chart on the side, I look at those red
lines. Given that Colombia is now at peace with FARC, I think
those red lines are going to get thicker in the very near
future. So where do you need those assets? Do you need them in
the United States or do you need them somewhere in Latin
America to stop all of that cocaine production from coming in
to our shores?
Admiral Ray. Thank you, sir. Those assets would be based in
the United States, hopefully in one of your districts, and they
would sail from there and go anywhere we need them. But
primarily right now where we need them and where they could be
most effective is in that area between South America and
Central America.
You know, that is a huge area. It is as big as the
continental United States. So covering that is difficult.
However, with the intelligence we have now that is what let us
know who is out there.
We know on a given morning, and we do this on a 24-hour
cycle and we create these packages, and we know who is there,
who we can get after. Of those, we literally had to let 580 of
them--we couldn't take a pass at them because we didn't have
sufficient assets.
So as I have mentioned to Congressman Rutherford earlier,
or Congressman Hurd about doubling down on the amount of assets
we have in that transit zone, that is how you get after them.
That is how you affect them.
Mr. Correa. So that would be your priority, sir, in terms
of investment.
Mr. Allen, you also mentioned that you have a tremendous
working relationship or a better working relationship with the
Mexican government.
A number of years ago I had the opportunity to go down to
Mexico City and look at one of their central intelligence
monitoring stations where they were looking at almost every
vehicle coming across their Southern Border. That information
would be digitalized, sent to Mexico City, and I presume that
was sent eventually to Langley, Virginia.
My question is what else do you need? What is it that we
need to do to increase, enhance our partnership with Mexico to
make sure that these drugs don't reach our shores and our
borders?
Mr. Allen. Well, as I said, and I think, you know, building
the capacity of Mexican agencies and, you know, increasing the
rule of law in Mexico is a key part of that. Our role is a
liaison role and increasing our footprint in Mexico and making
sure that we can have good, productive relationships with our
Mexican----
Mr. Correa. So what do you need from us to do that?
Mr. Allen. More people. You know, one of the things we
haven't talked about today is the, you know, the President's
Executive Orders which calls for 10,000 more ICE employees.
Some of those, I think, if the Secretary gets his way, will be
special agents. Our plan would be to deploy some of those
outside the United States.
So coming up----
Mr. Correa. Outside the United States and within Mexico and
other countries as well?
Mr. Allen. Absolutely, yes, sir.
Mr. Correa. Final question to Chief Beeson. In terms of
folks, people of interest, do you have a number of how many of
those have been apprehended crossing the Southern Border versus
the Northern Border?
Chief Beeson. So when we talk about--we would use the term
``special interest alien.'' We are looking at folks and their
travel patterns, where they have been, that would lead us to
have some concern about those individuals.
So that is information that we do keep. I do not have it
with me here today, so I would have to take that back for the
record.
Mr. Correa. Thank you.
Madam Chair.
Ms. McSally. OK. The Chair now recognizes myself for
questions.
Chief Beeson. Director Allen, I mentioned in my opening
statement a sophisticated drive-through operation that was
recently broken up in Cochise County, Arizona.
According to press accounts anyway, looks like they
successfully smuggled large quantities of drugs through Arizona
for years, not days or weeks or months, but for years before
they were actually caught.
These drive-through operations are something that I hear
from my constituents and border residents often about. We have
seen encrypted communication, you know, special code words,
other tactics to avoid detection.
The last breach that I personally saw on the border was
where they used pretty sophisticated blowtorch and, you know,
welding equipment to be able to cut through, basically, a gate
in the barrier with hinges.
So they were able to prep that in advance through their
spotters and scouts. They knew when they weren't going to be
detected or where they weren't going to be detected.
If you actually went by it, you wouldn't be able to see the
breach. But then at the time and place of their choosing, they
open it up, put the ramp, drive through, shut it, and go
through essentially undetected.
So just giving that case study of them being able to
conduct these operations for years in Cochise County, do you
think this is the level of sophistication is like the new, you
know par, this is the new normal for cartel operations?
Are there additional tools or authorities that we need to
give you in order to detect and interdict these types of
operations so they don't go on for years before they are
detected?
I congratulate them being rolled up and a number are being
prosecuted right now, but, you know, what could we learn from
it and do you need any additional tools or authorities?
Chief.
Chief Beeson. So we do have this phenomenon, if you will,
of the drug trafficking organizations and their smuggling. They
certainly are very sophisticated in their approaches.
They have the benefit of time. So they have got plenty of
time to wait and seek the right opportunity to engage in their
illegal activity.
They use scouting networks, as you have mentioned. They
utilize encrypted communications. They are utilizing, of
course, these vehicles, sometimes very rudimentary vehicles. It
looks like a car carrier, and then they just use it to ramp
over the fence.
For us to combat that, we are continuing to work on
situational awareness, making sure that we are improving our
detection capabilities along the Southwest Border.
Very critical for us to continue to engage with our law
enforcement partners, certainly with Homeland Security
Investigations to make sure that we are all sharing the same
information, know about who the networks are, who is operating
in the area.
Then, of course, getting information from the intelligence
community that is going to provide us with the pre-event intel
so that we can take action against these folks as they are----
Ms. McSally. Are there any, and I know we have been out
there visiting. Are there any additional tools specifically
related to or authorities related to intercepting or cracking
the encrypted comms? Or you know, we introduced a bill last
Congress related to the scouts, that oftentimes, when you roll
them up, you can't prosecute them for anything unless you can
tie them to a specific drug load.
So we made that a Federal crime. It didn't make it into
law, but we are going to keep pushing that issue. But are there
any additional tools or authorities you would need in order to
get out in front of their decision loop and their techniques?
Chief Beeson. So we have had some success against scouts.
As you mentioned, we have been able to prosecute some of them.
It does require some effort, right? I mean, good solid police
work to sit there and investigate and do that. We are certainly
happy to do that and do that very well, I think.
We have been having what I think is a really good
relationship with the U.S. Attorney's Office in terms of being
able to present these cases and for them to take a prosecution
on individuals that really don't have any narcotics with them
but they are still able to prove conspiracy and take those
cases.
We are going to continue to plug away on technology,
certainly on the tactical infrastructure, the barriers, and we
need to keep applying those things to really improve the
situational awareness that we need along the border.
Ms. McSally. Mr. Allen.
Mr. Allen. You know, the one thing I would add to Chief
Beeson's picture there is the foreign piece. There was a very
good example last year, just south of your district, or in your
district but on the Mexican side where by having a good
relationship with our Mexican counterparts we were able to make
sure that the border was not actually a barrier.
When we had information about a failed drive-through or a
drive-through that had been thwarted, we were able to cue
Mexican law enforcement to go and take law enforcement action
on the Mexican side.
I think that is another piece that we need to continue to
work on to make sure that, you know, when we do develop
intelligence about a drive-through, you know, if we can't
action that on the U.S. side of the border we can action it on
the Mexican side.
Ms. McSally. Great. Can I follow up on that? In all of your
testimony, most of your testimonies, you talked about better
coordination with authorities in Mexico, yet endemic
corruption, you know, through their government and law
enforcement.
How do you balance those two and cooperating but not
tipping them off related to the elements of corruption that
would be involved in your partner agencies?
Mr. Allen. I will start on that. Some of it, you know,
first of all, you have to go in with your eyes wide open. You
have to, you know, acknowledge right up front that corruption
is a challenge. But some of it comes down to who you talk to
and where and at what level of government.
Our best relationships are often in Mexico City away from
the border. As an example, to kind-of demonstrate how important
that can be, last year HSI and CBP and State and local law
enforcement authorities in Arizona did a somewhat unprecedented
operation in which we identified targets in northern Sonora
that we had--or indictments on, in the United States and we
wanted to go get.
We enlisted the support of the Mexican Federal Police and
got them to send more than a hundred law enforcement officers
and stage on the U.S. side of the boarder, in Arizona and
conduct, frankly, an air mobile assault into Mexico from the
United States, fully armed, coordinated amongst all the U.S.
agencies from the State Department through all law enforcement
very successfully.
It was not compromised because we worked with, you know,
U.S.-trained, U.S.-vetted law enforcement units that made that
possible. I think that is the way we want to continue to move.
Ms. McSally. Great, thanks. I will have another round of
questions, but my time has expired.
So the Chair now recognizes Ms. Barragan from California
for 5 minutes.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you.
Gentlemen, thank you for your service, and thank you for
being here today.
I want to start with you, Vice Admiral Ray. There has been
a lot of talk of building a wall on the Southern Border and
investing $25 billion or so in it. If that is done, do you
think that is going to increase and shift more focus onto the
seas and our maritime ports of entry?
Admiral Ray. I think there is a highly likelihood of that,
ma'am. You know, we found that when determined, illegal
traffickers meet a hard barrier on the land then there is a
percentage of them that will go to sea and try their hand
there.
We see it on both sides of the country when it comes to
illegal smuggling and when it comes to human trafficking. So I
think there is a reasonable potential for that.
Ms. Barragan. You also testified about if you had resources
it may be a good place to put it in the seas between, I guess,
the United States and Central and South America.
What about, do you foresee any increased threats coming
into the west side of the U.S. coast? Or is there a greater
need down in that area----
Chief Beeson. Well----
Ms. Barragan [continuing]. That you mentioned?
Chief Beeson. We would do both, ma'am, in answer to your
question. We have an on-going operation just south of Los
Angeles between, well, from San Diego north, called Baja
Tempestad, where we work with our partner agencies.
We have had a big effect and quite a few seizures of
marijuana trafficking going along there and illegal smuggling.
We have been doing that on-going for the last 4 years.
So that is an on-going right at our border, operation. When
I talk about the down-range, further down closer to Central
America, that is where we have the effect because that cocaine
is bound for Central America where it causes all the unrest and
criminal activity.
It is just fuel for the fire there in those violent
countries. That is what drives the young people out of there.
That is why they show up on our border. So it is both of those.
Ms. Barragan. Great. The last question I have is for
everybody. We have been hearing a lot from--all the panelists
talk about the importance of the U.S.-Mexico relationship, the
importance of the role they play in helping us address and deal
with the drug cartels and the criminal organizations.
Yet we have been hearing from this administration lots of
talk about building a wall, about having Mexico pay for the
wall, even about talks of a possible tariff of 20 percent on
Mexico. One of my concerns is all this talk is going to weaken
the cooperation between the United States and Mexico, having us
become more of a--less of a partner, I should say, between the
two.
Can you comment on what would be the impact if we had that?
If we had the United States and Mexico weaken the cooperation,
what that will do on the impact to the drug cartels and us
having the ability to fight that threat?
Chief Beeson. So I will just say that, you know, I have
been doing this job for a long time now, you know, over 30
years. It is certainly we have enjoyed throughout the course of
that time what I think is a good relationship with the
government of Mexico. That relationship has gotten better and
better and better throughout the years.
We have a number of operations, as the ones that Director
Allen mentioned, we engage with local authorities on a regular
basis to address border violence, to address cross-border
communication so that we both understand what the threat is
that is operating in that area because we both want a secure
border.
We look forward to continued relationship with the
government of Mexico. It is important for us. What we are doing
from a law enforcement perspective is paying dividends on the
border security front.
Ms. Barragan. Chief, so just so I want to make sure you
answer my question, and that is, what will the impact be if
there is less cooperation with the United States and Mexico?
Because I understand what you are saying. I completely agree
with you.
My concern is that a lot of the rhetoric we are hearing
from this administration only leads to less cooperation. I want
to know what the harm will be on less cooperation to this
fight, this very important fight, against the drug cartels and
the criminal organization. Can you address what that impact
might be?
Mr. Allen. You know, I think the short answer is that it
would hurt it. But I think, as Chief Beeson has mentioned, and
I think our experience would illustrate as well, you know, we
have weathered similar storms before in our relationships.
Fortunately we deal very well, law enforcement to law
enforcement, with our Mexican counterparts.
So we have not seen any degradation in our relationship. I
think we will be able to soldier on and make our way through
it.
Mr. Arreaga. I agree with my fellow panelists. We have not
detected any deterioration, but naturally we work on the basis
that partner governments want to work with us. Without it, we
couldn't accomplish much.
Ms. McSally. OK. The gentlewoman's time has expired.
The Chair now recognizes Mrs. Demings from Florida.
Mrs. Demings. Thank you very much, Chairwoman.
To all of you, thank you so much for your service, but not
just to you, but to the men and women who also serve with you.
Mr. Allen, we have heard quite a bit of talk, and I do
believe we have a very strong relationship with Mexico. I am
thankful for that. But what about our working relationship with
your counterparts in Central America? Could you talk a little
bit about that?
Mr. Allen. Absolutely. While we definitely have focused a
lot on our relationship with Mexico, you know, HSI has attache
offices throughout Central America and into South America. A
lot of the same relationships that we enjoy with our Mexican
law enforcement counterparts we also share with our Central
American and South American counterparts.
In my written testimony one of the things we talk about are
our transnational criminal investigative units where we work
cooperatively with U.S.-trained investigators from host
countries that allow us to project our priorities and our
authorities into the areas that provide that land bridge to the
United States, whether it is drug trafficking or illegal
migration.
And we see those relationships as just as important as our
relationships with our Mexican counterparts because, in the
end, the further we can push out that border and identify bad
things or bad people that are coming to the United States, the
better off that we are by pushing out that border.
Mrs. Demings. What do you think can be done to better
improve or enhance that relationship? You talked about the
number of agents that you have on the ground in Mexico. What
could be done to enhance that relationship in Central and South
America?
Mr. Allen. I would say continuing to help them build their
capacity, you know, working with the Department of State, in
particular INL, who often funds a lot of our relationships and
that the U.S. training that we provide to our foreign
counterparts is often funded through INL.
So increasing that, the ability to help them improve their
capabilities which, in turn, helps us protect our border is a
key part of that relationship.
Mrs. Demings. OK.
Chief Beeson, in previous years, many agents have
complained or requested communication systems that would allow
them to better communicate and share information with their law
enforcement partners. Is this still a challenge for you? If so,
what can be done to improve communications, intercommunications
between those partners?
Chief Beeson. We work, I think, very hard at improving
relationships with our law enforcement partners. I mean, this
is really, for us, we look at it as a whole-of-Government
approach. We want to make sure that law enforcement agencies
that are able to work with us on these border security issues,
that we have got good communication.
We will engage in task force operations with them.
Oftentimes, those task forces are led by Homeland Security
Investigations. We will--of course we do have car-to-car
communications, you know, assuming that our radios are
compatible. There are still from time to time, some challenges
with compatibility on radios.
Oftentimes we are able to overcome that now, especially
nowadays with the advent of cell phones and things like that.
Always working on ways to improve communication.
We enjoy what I think is a very good relationship with the
law enforcement community and something that we look forward to
continuing in the years to come.
Mrs. Demings. Have you had any challenges with the security
of the communications?
Chief Beeson. So our communications are encrypted and so we
are continually assessing the viability of the encryption and
looking forward to, you know, we want to make sure that they
remain that way.
We do lose radios from time to time or they get stolen.
Generally when that happens we are able to inhibit the radios
and as long as we are aware that that has happened, but that is
something that we are always looking at.
Mrs. Demings. OK. Thank you.
I yield back.
Ms. McSally. The gentlelady yields back.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Katko from New York for 5
minutes.
Mr. Katko. I appreciate the Chair for allowing me to come
in and ask a few questions here.
I want to thank the panel for being here. I started out my
career as a Federal organized crime prosecutor in El Paso,
Texas. I saw first-hand on the border the profound problems
that we confront. I finished my 20-year career on the Northern
Border.
My concern, at times, is that, well, there is not enough
attention being paid to the Northern Border. There have been
some recent articles to that effect, that everyone is focusing
on the Southern Border and no one is really paying attention to
the Northern Border, at least from our standpoint. I am not
saying law enforcement--from our standpoint.
I can tell you, the Northern Border is largely a sieve. We
have an Indian reservation in the northern district of New York
that straddles both sides of the border and is involved in
hundreds of millions of dollars a year, at a minimum, in
cocaine and marijuana trafficking and smuggling of aliens.
Many people view the Northern Border as far more vulnerable
to a terrorist infiltration than the Southern Border.
With that being said, I would just ask that at some point
that the Chairman maybe schedule a hearing so we can dedicate
an entire hearing to the Northern Border issues, because they
are profoundly different than the Southern Border. But they do
merit more attention.
I am a Chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee for
Transportation Security. As we saw this week, there are still
gaping holes in the drug trafficking components at our
airports.
We saw a case in Puerto Rico that has spanned now more than
a decade, and they smuggled more than 20 tons of cocaine onto
aircraft from Colombia through Puerto Rico into the United
States. That, to me, is a profound problem, and that is another
border-type issue.
So for Director Allen, as you are well aware of this
instance, I would like to hear from HSI as to whether you have
enough resources to fund these types of investigations at our
Nation's airports. That is not the first time we have had this
at the airports with HSI, and I am concerned about that.
Second, how can TSA or the FBI or other State and local
partners better support your efforts? I don't want FBI to be at
odds with you, running separate investigations at airports. I
want you to coordinate better with Homeland Security. So if you
could answer that, I would appreciate it.
Mr. Allen. Sure. Well, I will probably not talk about the
Puerto Rico investigation since it is a pending prosecution. I
am happy to talk about what we often refer to as internal
conspiracies, whether they be at airports or seaports and
looking at that insider threat.
You are correct. They present a tremendous challenge for
law enforcement and everything from a counterterrorism point of
view, the ability to get a firearm or other explosive device
onto an aircraft by using an insider threat certainly falls
well within the scope of our counterterrorism responsibilities
at the Department.
But from a drug trafficking point of view as well, we are
well aware that drug trafficking organizations want to use that
inter-State ability to move commercially to get their products
from point A to point B.
In terms to your question about resources and our ability
to work on that challenge, the vehicle that we use for that is
the Border Enforcement Security Task Forces. We have been
expanding the BESTs, as we refer to them. We have now----
Mr. Katko. Yes, I helped stand one up on Massena, New York
before I left.
Mr. Allen. Exactly, yes. So we now have four airport-
focused BESTs, one of them in Puerto Rico, that are chartered
to focus on that internal conspiracy threat.
Our goal would be to expand them and increase the number of
BESTs we have around the United States that can focus both on
the physical land border, but also on other chokepoints, in
this case in airports and seaports.
Mr. Katko. What about, I know FBI, for example, the FBI has
headed up some major operations Nation-wide. The example was
the Dallas-Fort Worth case where--that was a multi-airport case
there. How would you, kind-of, make FBI's efforts jibe with
yours better, if you could?
Mr. Allen. I think, for us, that all comes down to, you
know, coordination and deconfliction. I think one of the things
that I have seen change in my career, certainly accelerated
after 9/11 and a huge transformation in Federal law
enforcement, is the willingness and openness of agencies to
coordinate and deconflict investigations.
I think as long as all of us are doing that and we know
that someone is working an issue and that if resources are
needed from the Bureau or the Bureau needs resources from any
of the DHS components, that we are standing by to do that. As
long as we are talking and coordinating and deconflicting our
investigations, we are on the right track.
Mr. Katko. Thank you. Very quickly, I have 20 seconds so I
can't help it, but I am going to have to ask a Northern Border
question of the Vice Admiral, and that is the Shiprider Program
which you use up on the Northern Border has been, I think, a
very good success.
You marry the Canadian law enforcement with American law
enforcement. I think it is a good way to patrol the Great Lakes
and the St. Lawrence as best you can. How is that program
doing? Is there any discussion about possibly expanding it?
Admiral Ray. As you stated, sir, that program is doing
great. They have done about 900 boardings since that has been
stood up, several arrests. It closes seams on the border with
the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who are real proud of it: St.
Lawrence, Great Lakes, and also out in Puget Sound.
What it needs is more people and that is really what it--
you know, operations and maintenance money. There is not a--it
is boarding team members, carrying a gun, being trained, and
operating with the Canadians, and that is what we are short of.
Mr. Katko. I appreciate that, and hopefully we can have
another hearing on this if the Chairman is so inclined.
I just wanted to note two things for the record here. These
are reports on FBI, two articles, one recently, titled ``FBI
Reports Show Terror Suspects Coming from Canada While Trump
Stares at Mexico.''
The other one is from The Daily Caller, another article
about illegal refugees are now streaming across the Quebec/New
York border. That was recently done this week. I ask both of
them be entered into the record.
Ms. McSally. Without objection.
[The information referred to follows:]
Article Submitted For the Record by Hon. John Katko
FBI Reports Show Terror Suspects Coming From Canada While Trump Stares
at Mexico
Jana Winter 02.07.17 1:13 AM ET
http://www.thedailybeast.com/fbi-reports-show-terror-suspects-coming-
from-canada-while-trump-stares-at-mexico
Documents reviewed by The Daily Beast show way more suspected
terrorists encountered at the northern border than at the
southern one. Why is Trump so eager to build a wall down there?
Donald Trump keeps talking about the threat from the U.S.-Mexico
border. But he may be looking in the wrong direction. FBI reports
reviewed by The Daily Beast reveal that far more suspected terrorists
try to enter the country from the northern border with Canada than from
the south.
Seven FBI Terrorist Screening Center ``monthly domestic encounter
reports'' dating from April 2014 to August 2016 detail the number,
type, and location of encounters with known or suspected terrorists
across the United States. The encounters are based on information in
various watchlist databases. In all seven reports, the numbers of
encounters at land border crossings were higher in northern states than
southern.
``We are looking the wrong direction,'' said a senior DHS official
familiar with the data. ``Not to say that Mexico isn't a problem, but
the real bad guys aren't coming from there--at least not yet.''
On Monday, press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters he would not
disclose evidence behind the President's claims that jihadis are
``pouring'' into the country. ``I'm not going to get into specific
information that the President has,'' he said.
The FBI reports obtained by The Daily Beast provide data on known
or suspected terrorists attempting to enter the country, or who are
already in the United States.
These reports show hundreds of watchlisted passengers encountered
on domestic flights--meaning they are already in the country--and a
smaller percentage crossing the border over land.
Those encounters are reported back to the FBI's Terrorist Screening
Center and used to compile the monthly domestic encounter overview
reports, which are classified ``Law Enforcement Sensitive.''
Newly installed Department of Homeland Security Secretary John
Kelly traveled to Texas last week to survey the border in the Rio
Grande Valley with local law enforcement. He is scheduled to testify
Tuesday morning at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on
threats to the southern border.
But the FBI data shows concerns about terrorists crossing into the
U.S. from Canada may be a more immediate concern, or is at least worthy
of considerable attention, according to border and Congressional
officials.
``We often hear about security concerns on the southern border, but
bad actors intent on entering our country will always seek the path of
least resistance, so we must have the necessary tools and resources to
secure both the northern and southern borders,'' Sen. Gary Peters (D-
MI) said in a statement to The Daily Beast.
In August 2016, for example, more than twice as many watchlisted
individuals were encountered at land border crossings in northern U.S.
border states than in all states on the Mexican border combined.
The reports do not say whether the land border crossings were
attempts or successful entries into the United States. (Being
watchlisted does not necessarily prevent you from entering the
country.) The people documented in these encounters can include people
holding valid visas, applying for asylum, or caught between ports of
entry by U.S. law enforcement.
From Aug. 1 to Aug. 31, 2016, the Terrorist Screening Center
recorded 538 encounters with known or suspected terrorists in the U.S.
or at its borders. That includes incidents on domestic and incoming
international flights, at land and maritime border crossings, during
law-enforcement investigations, at Customs and Border Protection inland
checkpoints, and in the process of administrative work including
vetting for visa and refugee applicants.
Of those, only 68 happened at land borders. Michigan alone had 26
such encounters; New York had 17. Arizona and Texas had none at all--
even Vermont and Washington state had more--and California had 19.
FBI Terrorist Screening Center monthly reports from 2014 and 2015
tell a similar tale. New York, Michigan, and Washington have the most
encounters with suspected terrorists at land border crossings. North
Dakota and Vermont encounter one or two per month on average. The
numbers at the southern border were comparatively small. In April 2014,
for example, there were 12 border encounters in California and Texas
combined and 17 in Washington, New York, Michigan, and Vermont. In the
same month the following year, southern states reported two encounters;
northern states: 18.
In some months, some southern states had higher encounter numbers
overall, but fewer at land border crossings.
In April 2014, for example, there 141 encounters overall in
California, but just five at the land borders. (New York, by contrast,
had 154 overall and seven at the land border.)
``So often there's just talk about the southern border, but we
can't ignore the northern border,'' Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, a North Dakota
Democrat, said in a statement to The Daily Beast. ``When I brought
then-Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Mayorkas to Pembina, North
Dakota, we heard about issues ranging from recruiting and retaining
quality border patrol workers to inefficient or out-of-date
technologies.''
(The Department of Homeland Security referred requests for comment
to Customs and Border Protection headquarters, which did not respond to
The Daily Beast.)
Canada Embassy spokesperson Christine Constantin told The Daily
Beast in a statement ``it is relevant to note that no terrorists have
ever been successful in attacking the United States coming through
America's northern border.'' Constantin also highlighted ``robust
security measures'' on the border including integrated U.S.-Canada law
enforcement teams.
A new threat assessment report by the Texas Department of Public
Safety, released just days before Trump signed his refugee and
immigration executive order, describes terrorists' potential use of
existing Latin American human-smuggling routes that ``have long
transported Syrians, Iraqis, and other immigrants from countries where
terrorist groups operate to our land border with Mexico, where they
often seek asylum too,'' sometimes fraudulently. It does not say this
network is currently being utilized in this fashion. (In fact, this
report and others say that the more pressing issue may be terrorist
sympathizers crossing the U.S. border into Mexico--a dozen of whom have
been arrested over the last four years--to evade the U.S. no-fly list
as they make their way to joining ISIS overseas.)
This DPS report is being widely circulated among White House and
Congressional policy makers close to the administration, Congressional,
White House, and border security officials said. And it is being relied
heavily upon for immigration-related policy decisions. DHS Secretary
Kelly met privately with the Texas DPS last week to discuss aspects of
the report.
But Aaron Heitke--U.S. Border Patrol Grand Forks sector chief
patrol agent, who oversees all Customs and Border Protection activities
in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, South
Dakota, and Nebraska--thinks all the attention to the southern border
may be a bit myopic.
After all, the northern border is the longest land border in the
world, stretching 5,525 miles and 120 border crossings. The U.S. shares
1,933 miles with Mexico, according to information on CBP's website.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Heitke said the numbers of
watchlist encounters have been consistently higher in northern states,
though he said he's seen more steady numbers than the sharp uptick
suggested by the nationwide FBI reporting.
``It's been reasonably steady,'' he said.
He and other border sources noted that the northern U.S. hosts more
large immigrant populations that often come under scrutiny by federal
authorities. For example, Minneapolis has a large Somali community; it
can sometimes be more convenient for a passenger traveling from Somalia
to Michigan to travel to Canada first, and then cross into the United
States.
He also stressed that the northern border doesn't get as much
overall traffic as the southern one, and border patrol efforts in the
northern are aided by portions of near impossible to traverse terrain
and a ``fantastic'' relationship with Canada.
In contrast, a senior border official based in Texas said the
increasingly hostile relationship with Mexico will only make securing
that border more difficult. The official would not speak on the record,
citing concerns over incurring the wrath of President Trump and the new
administration from whom CBP is requesting vast increases in resources.
The official was unaware of data contained in the FBI terrorist
encounter reports. When asked if surprised that the number of
encounters was higher on the northern border, the official said ``yes,
a bit,'' before adding that this did not mean the danger of terrorists
entering the U.S. from the south was any less.
This official and Heitke both suggested that the attention from the
President and in the press on the Mexican border could inspire an
increase in future attempts to enter the country undetected through
Canada.
``While all eyes are on Mexico the bad actors will take another
look at Canada,'' said the DHS official. ``Unless you're incredibly
stupid you're not going to try to sneak into the country where everyone
is looking. You'd put on a coat and head to Canada.''
Editor's Note: This story was updated with a response from the
government of Canada.
______
Article Submitted For the Record by Hon. John Katko
Illegal Refugees Now Streaming Across Quebec-New York Border
Posted by David Krayden Contributor 12:23 PM 02/14/2017
http://dailycaller.com/2017/02/14/illegal-refugees-now-streaming-
across-quebec-new-york-border/
Despite all the media reports of refugees illegally entering Canada
from the U.S. at remote Manitoba crossings, more are actually getting
through along the Quebec-New York border--and it can be just as cold as
the temperatures reported along the prairies that have sometimes
induced frostbite.
The Canadian Border Security Agency says Quebec is now the
flashpoint for ``asylum seekers'' or double refugees who first entered
the U.S. as refugees and are now fleeing there and trying to sneak into
Canada over fears that President Donald Trump will have them deported.
The numbers speak for themselves, with 42 asylum claimants showing
up at the Quebec border last weekend alone and 452 for January--a 230
percent increase from the year before.
RCMP spokesman Cpl Camille Habel told CBC News that he attributes
the popularity of the Quebec border to its relative closeness to major
U.S. cities like New York and Washington, D.C. and the fact that
international airports are nearby.
``Bigger cities on each side can mean more people trying to cross
here.''
The ``refugees'' are deliberately crossing illegally so they can
bypass the Safe Third Country Agreement, which is supposed to prevent
people seeking asylum from choosing more than one ``safe'' destination
when the flee their country of origin. The U.S. and Canada are both
considered safe under this international legislation. But,
paradoxically, the act only applies at legal border crossings; so
double refugees are crossing illegally in order avoid their official
refugee status from being questioned.
Should refugees be stopped from crossing into Canada?
But the agreement only holds at official border crossings, so
people crossing illegally into Canada are able to apply for asylum
here, even if they arrived in the U.S. first.
Julie Lessard, who specializes in business immigration law, told
the CBC that the current illegal flow of refugee claimants that is
spreading across the longest undefended border int the world is fast
becoming the status quo.
``People are just trying to get better lives, so if the ban comes
back in another form--and because of the insecurity that it all
created--well definitely, there was an increase in the last couple of
weeks of the number of people trying to cross the border,'' Lessard
said.
``I don't see it ending at this point in time.''
Mr. Katko. Thank you.
Ms. McSally. I look forward to working with you and the
potential for future discussions on the Northern Border.
OK. We are going into round two here. Vice Admiral Ray, as
much as you can in an open setting, can you share some
perspectives on increased sophistication of cartel activities
in the maritime domain?
We have heard about them armoring their engines to avoid
being shot out, or using infrared technology, night vision
devices, sub-submersibles, those types of things. Can you share
some other examples of what you have seen of their evolving
tactics and sophisticated technology?
Admiral Ray. Yes, ma'am. I will have to think my way
through what I can talk about in this setting, but they are,
without a doubt, as all the panel members have said, they are
an innovative, adaptive, agile organization. As you said in
your opening statement, it is sophisticated operations.
If you can buy it in the open market, they have got the
funds to buy it. If it is anything that has to do with locating
illicit goods, communicating via satellite, they are doing it
and they get that.
When it comes to their ingenuity on the maritime, it is
really impressive that they can build in a ditch in the jungle
in Ecuador a craft capable of sailing about the distances going
from Florida to Washington State and carrying about 7,000 or
8,000 pounds of cocaine. I mean, that is pretty impressive.
So incredibly innovative, incredibly resourceful, and so,
that is what makes the problem so tough, they are adaptable.
Ms. McSally. Great, thanks.
Chief Beeson, we talk a lot about situational awareness and
operational control. So on the land border, there has been much
discussion today about pushing the border south and disrupting
the networks, and that is all an important part of the
strategy.
But as any sort of breaches come to the border, whether it
is going to go over, through or under or around, you know, we
have got to make sure we have got the situational awareness
that those breaches are happening and then the ability to have
operational control to intercept those breaches as close to the
border as possible. We have had many discussions about this.
In a previous hearing last Congress, Acting Chief Vitiello
said that the situational awareness on the 2,000-mile Southern
Border, if something breaches, if it moves, being able to see
it real time is a little over 50 percent, 56 percent.
Do you agree with that number? Has any of that changed?
What do we need to do in order to increase situational
awareness so that if something moves, you see it?
Chief Beeson. So Chief Vitiello, I think, was referring to
deployment density, and that encompasses situational awareness
among other things, how you are, you know, putting down your
resources and things like that.
From my perspective, that has gotten better. We have
implemented integrated fixed towers in Nogales. As you know, we
have got a system coming on-line in your district any day now,
should becoming operational in Douglas.
We have another system that will be going operational in
Sonoyta in the very near future. Then let's not forget the
value of men and women in the Border Patrol, and certainly
within Customs and Border Protection of the field office as
well, being on the line and being able to observe and report
what they are seeing.
You know, the barriers that we have deployed and that we
will continue to deploy, the technology that we have deployed.
All of that has to have a response element built into it, and
that is the men and women.
So we need to make sure that we are continuing to deploy
personnel, and certainly our objective is to get them down as
close to the border as possible.
Obviously, we want to push it south. We would like to get
the traffic before it ever gets to us. Absent our ability to do
that, we want to get it at the border.
But then we do not want the border to become a single point
of failure, and so we do need to be able to respond
appropriately should something get past us on the line.
Ms. McSally. Thanks, Chief. Additionally, we have talked a
lot about the strategy of defense-in-depth in the rural areas,
like my community, where we have fixed checkpoints which
still--no real measurements of effectiveness there, but just
really allowing the cartels to traffic through communities for
hours, days, miles, you know, before they are potentially
intercepted, which is a public safety threat.
As we are coming with a, you know, new leadership, is there
going to be a fresh look at that strategy and trying to, you
know, push closer to the border as opposed to where we have
had, you know, almost 50 percent of the interceptions in the
Tucson sector, as you know, are north of 5 miles from the
border. There are a lot of people who live in that area. That
is a continuous public safety concern.
Chief Beeson. So we are constantly assessing our strategy
and looking for ways to improve upon it. As I mentioned, our
objective, really, we want to work and push the border south as
far as we can.
I think we have had some pretty good success stories, a
couple of which Director Allen mentioned here today. Working
with the government of Mexico to really get some of these bad
things before they are even crossed into the United States.
We are continuing to deploy the men and women down to the
border with the objective that we are going to make the arrests
as close to the border as possible. On the whole, when you look
at it, that is occurring in a wide number of areas.
There are some areas where we still have challenges with
access to the border. You know, there are some environmentally-
sensitive areas. There are areas where there are no roads. So
those are areas where that is a challenge for us, and so we are
continuing to work.
Really, we want it as close to the border. We want to
prevent it in the first place. Then, of course, absent our
ability to do that, which does happen, then we want to make
sure that we do not allow the border to become that single
point of failure. We want to make sure that we have got the
capability to interdict anything that does make it across.
Ms. McSally. Thanks, Chief. So let's talk barriers for a
minute. There is the 2,000-mile Southern Border. Seven hundred
miles is land and about 1,300 is water. We have got some level
of barriers in 654 miles.
Secretary Kelly testified last week that he would be
listening to you and the troops on the ground to hear in
different sectors where barriers need to be replaced or added.
In your assessment, where do we need additional barriers or
different types of barriers?
I will tell you, even some of the replacements going on in
my district are causing some responses from local residents who
are living on the border and their concerns.
So could you just comment on your perspective, which
Secretary Kelly said he would be listening to on what we
actually need?
Chief Beeson. Secretary Kelly did come down to the border.
He has been to my sector. He has also been to the San Diego
sector. Subsequent to the visit with us, he went to San Diego
and did receive briefings from us on what our current laydown
is, and some of the areas where we would look to enhance that
when given the opportunity.
Customs and Border Protection and the Border Patrol, we
have a process. The acronym for it is, because we love
acronyms, the CGAP analysis.
So what we are doing with that is looking at what our
critical needs are, where there are gaps, and then making sure
that we have the plans moving forward on where we want to put
these things. So we can, I think, provide you with another
briefing----
Ms. McSally. Great.
Chief Beeson [continuing]. To, kind-of, give you a better
idea of where exactly we would like to put up barriers.
Ms. McSally. I appreciate that.
All right, the Chair now recognizes Mr. Correa for 5
minutes.
Mr. Correa. Thank you, Madam Chair. Very quickly,
gentlemen, wanted to say that, you know, during the Obama
administration, we had a record number of deportations, I
believe, under Obama. Deportations were more than the last few
Presidents combined.
So my question to all of you is it is my understanding that
the folks migrating north from Mexico has really slowed down
tremendously. Assuming that is the case, how much of that is
due to a growing Mexican economy, growing middle class, growing
number of jobs in Mexico that provide for folks to stay and
essentially find a living in Mexico?
Mr. Allen. For me, that is more of an economics question. A
little outside my area of expertise. So I pass on that one.
Mr. Correa. Everybody pass on that one?
Admiral Ray. Well, I----
Mr. Correa. It is an economics question, but I think it is
a relevant one when we are looking at possibly putting tariffs
on imports. That is really a monetary policy that could reduce
economic growth south of the border.
But the other question I have, one is a sensitive one which
is on the issue of corruption on our side. Do we have any
reports? I know we have had some newspaper articles in the past
about some of our border agents, unfortunately, you know,
looking the other way. Any update on that? Any status on the
corruption on our side of the border?
Mr. Allen. I don't have any numbers, and I refer to it both
in my written and my oral statement. You know, the reality is
that U.S. law enforcement is not immune to corruption.
While I think anecdotally it is certainly at a much lower
level in the United States than it is in Mexico, you know, back
to the question about internal conspiracies in the air
environment, that we face that same challenge, that insider
threat challenge, on our borders as well.
It is ICE is not immune. CBP is not immune. State and local
law enforcement in the United States is not immune. It is
something that we have to focus on and acknowledge.
Mr. Correa. I say that because there is so much money
involved in this business of drugs that nobody is immune. At
the same time, let me take the opportunity to thank all of the
men and women in uniform who do protect our borders, who do
protect our citizens, because you do a darn good job.
My final question is really kind-of a comment. Got a chance
to go into Mexico about 4 or 5 months ago. I went through some
of the small villages, and the issue of public safety is a big
one. Folks won't go out of their homes after the sun goes down
because they fear for their lives.
It was very interesting. A few days before I got there, the
Mexican marines came in and swept up the whole area. It is my
understanding, unofficially, about 40 casualties. Forty of the
bad guys were actually taken out.
But I want to encourage you to continue to cooperate with
the Mexican authorities because you notice when Mexican marines
go in with U.S. leadership they do make a difference when it
comes to folks living in those small villages throughout
Mexico. So please continue to do a good job.
Ms. McSally. The gentleman yields back.
The Chair now recognizes Mr. Rutherford from Florida for a
second round. No? OK. Great. Just a few more questions.
Admiral Ray, have you seen--can you share any changes in
trends from the change to the wet foot, dry foot policy as far
as Cubans trying to head north?
Admiral Ray. Yes, ma'am. As I said, last year was a record
year in terms of growth of Cuban immigration, illegal
immigration, since 1994, the biggest year we have had. After
the wet foot, dry foot was repealed last month, we saw a
dramatic downturn.
Now some of this is not really the season, right, this time
of year when the weather and other things. So we are certainly
not letting our guard down now because there is always the
threat.
Certainly the conditions in Cuba and the conditions in
America haven't changed. So we see the threat is still out
there, but the facts on the water as of right now since that
was repealed, there is a lot less attempts that we have seen
thus far.
Ms. McSally. Great, thanks. Can any of you comment on we
have had a number of States in the country that are now
legalizing marijuana, and whether that is impacting the
business model of the cartels and changing from marijuana to
other drugs or human trafficking related to the supply-and-
demand issue?
Mr. Allen. I think that might fall into, you know, what we
could call the intelligence gap. But, you know--and we talked
earlier about heroin. In my mind, there is no mistaking the
explosive, you know, growth in the cultivation of poppies in
Mexico and the transition to, you know, heroin as one of their
primary drugs that they are exporting to the United States.
Ms. McSally. So, I mean, correlation doesn't mean
causality, so there is----
Mr. Allen. Correct.
Ms. McSally [continuing]. Probably a couple of different
elements in that to include the increased demand and the opioid
addictions----
Mr. Allen. Absolutely.
Ms. McSally [continuing]. In the country. I do want to talk
about that. Despite all the amazing efforts that you gentlemen
represented today and all the individuals that are doing the
job every single day in order to defeat these networks and
intercept the activity, we still have a drug epidemic going on
in our country.
The price of drugs is still, unfortunately, affordable for
people to be ruining their lives. So that has not changed. The
hard drugs coming through the ports of entry, primarily, most
of you have testified to.
Mr. Allen, what else do we need to do at the ports of entry
related to these hard drugs that are making their way through?
There are pretty innovative techniques, as you have testified
to and many of you have testified to.
Mr. Allen. Well, I think, you know, CBP has done a
tremendous job in refining and improving how they target, you
know, at the ports of entry.
I think focusing more, you know, resources on that problem
set. You know, the reality is that CBPOs who are on the border
have a very, very short time to make a decision about whether
they should admit somebody or refer a vehicle or a person to
secondary for further inspection.
So I think, you know, giving them the resources and the
capabilities to target as effectively as they can, both in the,
you know, kind-of the personally-owned vehicle and pedestrian
environment, and then in commercial cargo, is key to that. That
is certainly an interagency problem.
You know, ICE and HSI contribute, you know, information
that helps refine targeting. But, you know, giving them as much
good information to use to target is where we want to go.
Ms. McSally. Is there additional technologies that are
needed or technologies that have been proven that are not
deployed to each of the ports of entry?
Mr. Allen. I would defer to Chief Beeson on that.
Ms. McSally. Chief.
Chief Beeson. I will have to take that back, for the
record.
Ms. McSally. OK.
Chief Beeson. I will have to ask my----
Ms. McSally. OK.
Chief Beeson [continuing]. Field ops, Congresswoman.
Ms. McSally. Great, thanks. I will say I agree with many of
the comments made by my colleagues here today that, you know,
we have got to make sure that the legitimate economic activity
that comes north and south continues to be able to flow while
we are intercepting the illegitimate activity and the drugs and
the human smuggling and what has been talked about today that
happens both between the ports of entry and at the ports of
entry.
If we are talking about border security, we have got to
look at that in its completeness: The maritime domain, the air
domain, the land domain, but then at the ports of entry. So we
have seen in my community, the Douglas port of entry, just as
an example, is one that is old, is not capable for addressing
the commerce.
But also it is a security issue, right? Because they need
upgrades to be able to address the illegitimate activity that
is coming through the ports of entry. My hope would be--we had
a hearing on this last time but, you know, upgrades to the
ports of entry have been somehow--they are involved in other
Federal buildings and priorities related to GSA.
I think we need to look at this more holistically as a
security issue. When we are talking about infrastructure in
this Congress and with the administration, I think we need to
be focused at our ports of entry both for economic drivers and
for security drivers, and I don't think that should be lost.
So that is more of a statement. I don't know if anybody has
a comment on that, but I think somehow we, you know, often just
talk about between the ports of entry, but the security at the
ports of entry is just as critical. All right.
The Chair now recognizes my colleague for any last
statements.
Mr. Correa. Thank you very much. Again, I want to thank
everybody for being here today, and I also concur with our
chair that--very good discussion. Learned a lot today.
I just wanted to leave, again, focusing what our Madam
Chair has said, ports of entry, inland ports. This is a concept
I picked up from my colleagues in Texas, that checking our
cargo, checking those things that are about to cross the border
a few miles before they get to the border be sealed.
So that once you get to the border, your jobs is a whole
lot easier than they are now. Has there been any further
thought about working on those inland ports of entry?
Chief Beeson. So CBP has engaged in several different pilot
programs. The one that I think you are referring to was in
California. Most recently in Arizona they have a program, a
joint customs program, with Mexican customs that has been
working quite well for them. They speak very highly of it. So
it is something that, you know, we continue to assess.
Ms. McSally. Great. I want to thank the witnesses for their
valuable testimony and the dialog and the questions and answers
today. I thank the Members for their questions as well.
The Members of the committee may have some additional
questions for the witnesses. I would ask you to respond to
these in writing. Pursuant to committee rule VII(D), the
hearing record will be open for 10 days. Without objection, the
committee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:51 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]