Drug Trade vs. Budget Cuts

摘要

The U.S. Coast Guard warned earlier this year that sequestration's indiscriminate, across-the board budget cuts would directly affect the service's drug-interdiction capabilities. As the federal government enters a new fiscal year on Oct. 1, service officials said budget limitations have, indeed, hampered those efforts. "We are in a resource-constrained environment, so sequestration did happen and we did lose resources," said Capt. Gregory Burg, chief of enforcement for the 11th Coast Guard District. His area of operations includes California, Arizona, Utah and Nevada, as well as the border with Mexico. "We are doing a pretty good job [of catching drug smugglers] as they get near shore, but that's making them change their tactics. Our adversaries are very adaptable. Every time we determine a route or determine a procedure, they change on us. We are also dealing with quite a large amount of coastline," he said.