Drug-Related Crime

High levels of violent crime plague the HIDTA region, largely as a result of the struggle between Mexican DTOs for control of the El Paso/Juárez plaza. Mexican DTOs operating in the West Texas HIDTA region are violent, powerful, well-financed organizations. These DTOs have intelligence, weaponry, and communication capabilities that they use against each other in their battle for supremacy. The capabilities and violent tendencies of these sophisticated organizations are a significant challenge to law enforcement officials at the West Texas-Mexico Border, particularly since the resources of Mexican DTOs often surpass those of law enforcement. A number of armed encounters between Mexican traffickers and U.S. law enforcement personnel occurred on the U.S. side of the border in 2006. For instance, on two separate occasions heavily armed units of traffickers appeared on the banks of the Rio Grande River east of El Paso during smuggling attempts, preventing law enforcement officers from pursuing couriers who fled back across the border into Mexico. Although these confrontations did not escalate into violent shootouts, U.S. law enforcement officers were prevented from apprehending drug couriers because of the manpower and cache of weapons possessed by Mexican traffickers. These incidents are reportedly connected to the Escajeda Organization, one of the gatekeepers operating in the El Paso/Juárez plaza.

Abuse

Illicit drug abuse in the West Texas HIDTA region appears to takes place primarily in El Paso. Most drug-related treatment admissions in the area occur in El Paso County and are for cocaine and heroin abuse. The scattered and sparse population in areas outside El Paso precludes collection of accurate information pertaining to drug abuse in other regions of the HIDTA. Therefore, reported abuse levels in the West Texas HIDTA region could be higher than current reporting indicates. However, reported treatment costs are significant and are taxing already-limited local resources.

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