May 3, 1996 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S4681 border state of Nuevo Leon was forced to re- gether with about a dozen smaller groups, Munising was first founded in 1850 sign following accusations of mismanage- they have been dubbed The Mexican Federa- when the Munising Co. bought 87,000 ment and drug-related corruption. tion by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Adminis- acres of land on the eastern shore of In some respects, northern should tration and gross an estimated $10 billion to Munising Bay. The land changed hands have had the best chance of any region of the $30 billion annually in narcotics sales in the nation to shake off decades of political cor- . Family ties are important to for the next 20 years as businesses ruption and offer tough resistance to the rise the groups, most of which can trace their opened and closed in the area. of the drug kingpins. lineage back decades to the cross-border In 1870, the beginnings of a thriving It was the first region of the country where smuggling of contraband such as stolen cars. town were seen. The village of 30 homes members of the conservative opposition Na- THE CARTEL was centered around the blast furnace tional Action Party (PAN) broke the stran- which had just begun producing iron. glehold of the ruling Institutional Revolu- Currently the second most powerful cartel. Considered the most violent of the Mexican The village had a blacksmith shop, tionary Party (PRI), winning governorships, sawmill, dock, and a government light- mayoralties and municipal seats with prom- organizations. Best known for the ambush of ises of fighting entrenched corruption. Catholic Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas house. The village continued to thrive Instead, the drug cartels are more powerful Ocampo at Airport in May 1993. until 1877, when a fire destroyed the than ever. Leaders: Arellano-Felix brothers—Ben- whole community. One of the first PAN governors in the jamin, Ramon, Javier and Francisco (cur- By 1895, the lumber baron Timothy north, Ernesto Ruffo Appel, former governor rently jailed in Mexico)—who are the neph- Nester had acquired 184,000 acres in of , said he found drug-based ews of Guadalajara Cartel co-founder Miguel Munising Bay. He quickly began work corruption too institutionalized to clean up Angel Felix Gallardo. on a railroad to connect Munising to from the governor’s office. Activities: Controls most of drug smug- ‘‘The system doesn’t work,’’ said Ruffo, gling across the California border; has re- South Shore. A town was planned and who works at the national party level. cently diversified to become one of the main several buildings were built from the ‘‘Everybody’s on the take. There’s just too suppliers of methamphetamine, consolidat- nearby lumber. In January 1896, a post much money.’’ ing its position through a violent turf war in office was opened to serve the town’s According to many law enforcement offi- San Diego. 500 residents. In March 1896, the village cials and political specialists, the institu- THE CARTEL was incorporated and Nester was tionalization of corruption is a key mile- Also known as the Caro Quintero organiza- named president. The new town ex- stone in northern Mexico’s journey toward tion; made up of remnants of the old Guada- panded rapidly and after a year its resi- becoming a drug fiefdom. ‘‘In the past, you had specific protection lajara Cartel, best known for the brutal 1985 dents numbered 3,500. The lumber in- rackets that were between particular peo- torture and killing of DEA agent Enrique dustry would continue to drive the ex- ple,’’ said a U.S. law enforcement official Camarena. pansion of the village for many years who monitors drug trafficking on the border. Leaders/co-founders: , to come. ‘‘Now you increasingly have protection [for under arrest. Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, Today, Munising is a small and vi- the cartels] regardless of who sits in a par- arrested in 1989, remains a major player from prison. brant community. Many people from ticular law enforcement job.’’ Michigan and around the country come At the low end, police, because of their Acting leader: Miguel Caro Quintero, poor pay, traditionally have been thoroughly brother of Rafael. to Munising to experience the many ac- corrupted by drug cartels. Police frequently Activities: Among the first Mexican orga- tivities its natural beauty has to offer. act as bodyguards and assassins for the king- nizations to transport drugs for the Colom- I know that my Senate colleagues join pins, and raging gun battles among local, bian kingpins. Main trafficking routes me in congratulating the city of state and federal police units—some in the through Arizona border area known as ‘‘co- Munising on its 100th anniversary.∑ caine alley’’ with movements also coordi- pay of the cartels, the others trying to arrest f them—are commonplace. nated through the Juarez Cartel in the terri- Late one night a few weeks ago, a Wild tory controlled by that organization. RISE IN DRUG USE West-style shootout exploded on the streets THE JUAREZ CARTEL ∑ Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, ear- of Juarez—police were fighting it out with Currently the most powerful of the Mexi- police. lier this week I and several of my col- can cartels. leagues—Mr. COVERDELL, Mr. KYL, Mr. Carloads of federal police surrounded city Leader: , about 40; NICKLES, Mr. GRAMM, Mr. DOMENICI, police headquarters and within minutes took over in 1993. Shuns flamboyant lifestyle shooting broke out, leaving one federal offi- of his competitors, and is said to represent a Mr. FRIST, and Mr. CRAIG—came to this cer dead on the bloodied pavement and sev- new breed of kingpin who believes in com- floor to discuss the disturbing rise in eral city police wounded in what many offi- promising with rivals. drug use in this country since the be- cials described as an outgrowth of simmering Activities: Carrillo Fuentes pioneered the ginning of the Clinton administration. tensions between rival drug protection rack- use of Boeing 727s for bulk shipments of as Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal edi- ets. much as 15 tons of between South ‘‘I know I have policemen who are paid by torialized on the same subject. I ask America and northern Mexico. Cartel oper- the drug dealers,’’ said Mayor Galindo. ‘‘I that the editorial be printed in the ates primarily through Juarez-El Paso and pay 2,200 pesos [$297] a month. A drug dealer RECORD. surrounding desert along the west Texas and can give $1,000 a week for protection. I can’t New Mexico borders. The editorial follows: compete. When I listen to the politicians in WAITING TO EXHALE THE Mexico City talk about the drug struggle, Now, in April 1996, with eight months left they don’t know what they’re talking about. Once undisputed champ of the Mexican or- on a four-year term, Bill Clinton flies the Where can I hire police I can trust?’’ ganizations. Cartel’s fortunes began to fade press into Miami so he can be seen standing A few months before the shootout, Juarez about a year ago after its alleged kingpin, shoulder to shoulder with General Barry city police—frustrated that their federal Juan Garcia Abrego, 51, had to go under- McCaffrey, a decorated war hero he’s en- counterparts, charged with enforcing drug ground. He was arrested in January and de- listed to lead a . Standing laws, were taking no action to stop the pro- ported to the United States, where he is among schoolchildren Monday, the President liferation of drug shooting galleries in the standing trial in Houston. poured his great rhetorical heart onto the city—leaked the addresses of 90 known drug Leader: Oscar Malherve, one of Abrego’s drug war. Along the way came these key houses to a local newspaper. The paper pub- top lieutenants and money-launderers. words: ‘‘Make no mistake about it, this has lished the list and confronted the federal po- Activities: Moves drugs primarily through got to be a bipartisan, American, nonpoliti- lice, who said they had never been given the the Texas border region, particularly Mata- cal effort.’’ Translation: Don’t blame me for list. ‘‘We published the list as proof that moros-Brownsville, and along the Gulf coast- this problem, especially during an election they’d received it,’’ said an editor. ‘‘And al shores.∑ campaign. they did nothing.’’ f In fact, Bill Clinton’s retreat in the drug Ruffo and others say even the judicial sys- war is among the worst sins for which his tem has become co-opted, by money or fear. CITY OF MUNISING’S 100TH Administration should be held accountable. ‘‘Judges are afraid they might be killed. It’s ANNIVERSARY After years of decline in drug use, recent very risky to confront this,’’ Ruffo said. On surveys make it clear that a younger that, he shares the pessimism of many in ∑ Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I rise today to commemorate the 100th anni- generation of Americans is again at risk. northern Mexico: ‘‘If we can’t even trust the The number of 12-to-17-year-olds using judicial system, we have nothing.’’ versary of the incorporation of the city marijuana increased to 2.9 million in 1994 THE MEXICAN FEDERATION of Munising, MI. In the Chippewa lan- from 1.6 million in 1992. Marijuana use in- Four organizations dominate the inter- guage, Munising means Place of the creased 200% among 14-to-15-year-olds during national drug trade in northern Mexico. To- Great Island. the same period. Since 1992, according to S4682 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE May 3, 1996 large surveys of high school students, there eral McCaffrey, who says, ‘‘There is no rea- I’m pleased that the latest reports has been a 52% increase in the number of son why we can’t return America to a 1960s show that there is relative stability seniors using drugs monthly. One in three re- level, pre-Vietnam era level of drug use.’’ temporarily, but I am confident that port having used marijuana in the past year. Sorry, General, but pre-Vietnam America Private anti-drug advocates such as Jim is not coming back. General McCaffrey’s cur- this relative stability will be broken Burke of the Partnership for a Drug Free rent President is a founding member of the once again unless the nations move to- America and Joe Califano of Columbia Uni- generation that transformed America in the gether effectively under U.S. leader- versity’s Center on Addiction and Substance years of Vietnam and those that followed. It ship. Abuse have been running alongside this drug bequeathed to all of us a culture and ethos of The ECOMOG forces have brought fire, yelling for help to anyone who’d listen. such personal and moral slovenliness that we some stability but there needs to be a Better late than never, of course, and it is must now enlist a battle-hardened soldier to stronger indication of interest outside save the children of the anti-Vietnam gen- good that Mr. Clinton wants to mend his of Africa also. Bishop John H. Ricard, ways with General McCaffrey. We applaud eration from drugs. It is perhaps the most the appointment and think General McCaf- perfect, bitter irony that when these parents chairman of the board for Catholic Re- frey has sounded many right notes. Legaliza- now exhort their children to stop using mari- lief Services, had an op-ed piece in the tion, he says, ‘‘is out of the question.’’ juana (of a strain that is significantly more Washington Post, which I ask to be A quarterly regional analysis put out by potent than anything they dabbled in), the printed in the RECORD after my re- his office brings the problem up to date: ‘‘A kids reply: ‘‘Why should we? We’re not hurt- marks. I hope his article will stir pol- recent New York State high school survey ing anyone.’’ Basically, we’d very much like to know ex- icymakers a little more. reports that 12% of New York teens said that He eloquently pleads for help to this they smoked marijuana at least four times a actly why Bill Clinton took a powder on the month, double the number in the 1990 sur- drug wars after he became President. There needy, desperate country. vey.’’ Discussing ‘‘Emerging Drugs.’’ the re- was in fact a rationale of sorts offered at the The article follows: port notes methamphetamine’s popularity in time for the change in tone and direction. In WHY NO HELP TO LIBERIA? the San Francisco area: ‘‘in addition to its contrast to what was thought to be the Re- (By John H. Richard) publican approach of throwing people in jail use by young users who combine it with her- When the leaders of Liberia’s warring fac- for drug offenses, the Clinton approach oin (‘‘a meth speedball’’) it can also be found tions signed a peace agreement in Abuja, Ni- would emphasize prevention and treatment. in ‘biker’s coffee,’ a combination of meth- There is a case to be made for prevention and geria, last August, they did not ask for amphetamine and coffee popular among treatment, but the heart of our complaint American troops to back it up. They did not young, fairly affluent urbanites.’’ Addition- with this President’s attitude on drugs has ask us to broker the peace or shed our blood. ally, the report notes that ‘‘Club drugs, a to do with what we would call it character, What they did ask for was a credible force of name which generally includes MDMA, its moral content. properly equipped peacekeepers to persuade Ketamine, 2c-B, LSD, psilocybin and a range Unlike the Reagans, you will never see the combatants to give up their weapons. of other hallucinogens, are increasingly Clintons articulating the war on drugs as an They knew that this relatively modest as- mentioned in this quarter.’’ essentially moral crusade. With its emphasis sistance would provide stability and give the These recent events are not a coincidence. on treatment and programs and prevention, country an opportunity to rejoin the rest of The drug retreat was the result of a series of it is mainly the kind of effort that the soci- the world. The signatories to the agreement explicit policy decisions by Mr. Clinton and ologist Philip Rieff identified as the triumph had hoped that Liberia-like Bosnia, Haiti, those around him. Which is why we think it of the therapeutic. Rather than the school- Kuwait and Somalia—might qualify for the is worth focusing on the meaning of his wish marmish Nancy Reagan, the Clintons, like type of aid necessary to give the nation a that the anti-drug war be ‘‘bipartisan, Amer- the generation of liberal constituencies that chance. ican, nonpolitical.’’ This means that between they lead, are going to be rhetorically cor- Rejected by the international community, now and November’s election no one is al- rect, believers in the powers of bureaucratic Liberians were left to face the formidable lowed to utter the phrase ‘‘didn’t inhale.’’ No healing—and nonjudgmental. In their world, tasks of nation-building without the assist- one is allowed to remember Surgeon General no one is ever quite caught for disastrous ance that might have seen them through Joycelyn Elders talking about drug legaliza- personal behavior or choices. Instead of abso- those tasks. Perhaps the violence we wit- tion, even as her own son was arrested and lution, there are explanations. nessed last week would have happened any- convicted on drug-sale charges. This, in our opinion, is the real reason the way. The sad truth is we won’t ever know Nor should anyone be allowed to bring up drug war waned when Bill Clinton became whether a stronger American and Inter- White House deputy personnel director Patsy President. The message this new President national commitment might have helped Li- Thomasson’s admission to a congressional sent to his young, yuppie, MTVish audiences beria avoid this bloodshed. committee that some dozen White House em- was that he was just too cool to go relent- Liberian warlords cannot be excused for ployees, including senior staff, had been ‘‘re- lessly moralistic over something like rec- the terror inflicted in Monrovia over the quested to be part of an individual drug test- reational drugs. Sure he had an anti-drug past week, but neither can we place the ing program’’ because of their prior drug his- policy in 1992 and a czar and speeches, but blame entirely on Africa’s doorstep. Libe- tory. Ms. Thomasson’s experience in these Bill Clinton wasn’t going to have any cows ria’s West African neighbors, committed to drug mop-up duties extends back to her days over the subject. Surely, the drug-testing bringing peace to the region, brought the in Arkansas when she took over the business White House staff understood that much. warring parties to the negotiating table of Dan Lasater—Little Rock bond dealer, We don’t doubt that a lot of people in this more than a dozen times since fighting broke Clinton campaign contributor and friend-of- country, especially parents of teenaged and out in the fall of 1990, and scores of African brother Roger—while Mr. Lasater served pre-teen children, would very much like to peacekeepers have given their lives to end prison time for ‘‘social distribution’’ of co- rediscover General McCaffrey’s pre-Vietnam the war. When the accord was signed, the caine. This week Mr. Lasater is testifying world of less constant cultural challenge. fueding leaders established a functioning before the Senate Whitewater Committee, But the people who turned that culture up- government that all parties upheld for near- and we assume he will be asked to enlighten side down, making it a daily challenge for ly five months. the committee about the millions of dollars parents, have at last been given the chance As skirmishes flared up-country, one or an- of mysterious trades that his firm made to run the government. But this death-bed other of the Liberian leaders traveled to the through an account without the knowledge conversion on drugs simply lacks credibility. point of conflict to settle it. It was not ex- of the account’s owner, Kentucky resident As much as we applaud General McCaffrey’s actly a constitutional system, but the Libe- Dennis Patrick. new offensive, only a triumph of hope over rian Council of State represented the resolve On matters of pure policy, among Bill Clin- experience could lead anyone to believe it of a critical mass of Liberians to achieve ton’s first acts was to cut spending on the would be sustained past November if Mr. peace. They were willing to continue, and war. The staff of the Office of National Drug Clinton and his crowd are returned to the they need our help. Control Policy was cut to 25 from 146. Drug White House.∑ It is impossible to say whether there would interdiction funds were cut. The number of f be peace in Liberia today if the United Na- trafficker aircraft seized by Customs fell to tions Security Council had made the sort of 10 from 37 in FY ’93–’95. Drug czar Lee Brown WHY NO HELP TO LIBERIA? commitment there that it has made in other wandered the nation’s editorial pages seek- ∑ Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, the trag- parts of the world. But the international ing the public support he rarely got from his edy of Liberia should be of concern to community never gave the African peace President. New York Democratic Congress- all Americans. agreement a chance. man Charles Rangel announced: ‘‘I really I have twice visited that battle- A week ago, international donors meeting never thought I’d miss Nancy Reagan, but I scarred country which has more ties to in Brussels agreed that it would take $1.2 bil- do.’’ lion to begin the reconstruction of Bosnia. Finally, about a year ago, Mr. Clinton re- the United States historically than any Last September, the same international do- ceived a stinging letter from FBI Director other nation of Africa. nors rejected a $110 million U.N. appeal to fi- Louis Freeh and DEA director Tom Con- And the United States bears a partial nance demilitarization, resettlement and stantine, charging that the President’s anti- responsibility for what is happening economic rehabilitation in Liberia, demand- drug effort was adrift. So now we have Gen- there. ing that African nations shoulder more of