A new focus on non-drug "transnational crime"

The Clinton Administration is also allowing specialized counternarcotics units of the U.S. government to shift their focus away from drugs and toward a poorly understood phenomenon sometimes referred to as transnational organized crime. For instance, the U.S. government's drug-related foreign intelligence capability is concentrated within the Central Intelligence Agency's Counter-Narcotics Center (CNC). The CNC has now been renamed the Crime and Narcotics Center, reflecting a new focus on the collection of non-drug-related intelligence. The Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics Matters has been reconstituted as the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and reportedly is attempting to inject itself into the coordination of the overseas activities of U.S. government law enforcement agencies. Some shift toward international organized crime may be inevitable, given reports of increased non-drug organized criminal activity. It remains to be seen, however, whether a shift in strategy toward the ill-defined threat of foreign criminal groups will protect the welfare, safety, and security of American citizens, or reduce the flow of illegal drugs.

In the area of money laundering, the Administration has allowed the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to devote 50 percent of its time to non-drug investigations, up from 20 percent in previous years. (Note 53) The President's fiscal year 1996 budget actually proposed to cut the drug-related portion of FinCEN's budget from $15.8 million in fiscal year 1995 to $11.1 million in fiscal year 1996.

The war on drugs can and should be waged effectively on the financial battlefield. The vigorous prosecution and punishment of money laundering operations and related crime, together with the seizure of the drug mafias' financial assets, effectively raises the costs of this deadly business. It also raises the street price of drugs, thereby reducing demand. Finally, it sends a powerful message to the drug lords-we will seize your profits and strike you wherever we can. Consequently, Congress must monitor these developments to ensure that our nation's fight against the drug trade is effectively waged.