Federal Drive

Adm. Bob Papp, Commandant, Coast Guard

Why capturing drug smugglers is becoming harder for the Coast Guard.

Federal News Network Staff

March 13, 2014 1:28 pm

< a min read

wfedstaff | April 17, 2015 6:24 pm

Federal budget cuts have been good for drug traffickers: The Coast Guard slashed its operating costs by a quarter last year because of sequestration. As a result, Coast Guard Commandant Bob Papp recently told an industry gathering in San Diego that U.S. intelligence tracked just a third of the drug smuggling boats and planes that traveled between Latin America and the United States. And he said the Coast Guard’s resources are “woefully inadequate.” Adm. Papp spoke with Tom Temin and Emily Kopp on The Federal Drive about the problem of capturing drug smugglers.