The World - News from July 18, 1986

Reagan Administration officials testified that the Mexican drug eradication program--once a model for other nations--has deteriorated since 1981 because of corruption and economic recession in Mexico and increased U.S. demand for drugs. At a hearing of the House Task Force on International Economics Control, officials from the State Department, Drug Enforcement Administration and Customs Service said that Mexico, the No. 1 source for heroin in the United States, also is supplying more marijuana than ever before and is increasingly a conduit for cocaine. An additional $2 million has been requested to re-establish the drug eradication program.