The Juarez Tijuana Port Angeles Connection

Port Angeles, along with twenty-three other Washington cities, has a Mexican drug trafficking presence. This is according to the annual report of the National Drug Intelligence Center.

A total of 230 cities have had Mexican drug trafficking activity between 2006 and 2008.

Port Angeles Police Chief Terry Gallagher said: “We have known for several years that some of the cocaine and methamphetamine that is distributed in the region comes from Mexican gangs.”

He said Port Angeles was the only Olympic Peninsula city mentioned in the report, but that’s probably because the Olympic Peninsula Narcotics Enforcement Team (OPNET) is based in Port Angeles.

Ron Cameron, Clallam County chief criminal deputy and OPNET commander, said the designation reflects the entire region and not just Port Angeles. He said: “Historically, we've been dealing with it [Mexican drug trafficking] in this county since 1993. In '07, we took out a significant group that was operating in Western Washington. These things have a tendency to go in waves and cycles.”

According to the federal report: “Mexican DTOs [Drug Trafficking Organizations] are the greatest drug trafficking threat to the United States. They control most of the U.S. drug market and have established varied transportation routes, advanced communications capabilities and strong affiliations with gangs in the United States.”