About CVC HIDTA

Congress established the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. It assists Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States.
Police

The HIDTA program is overseen by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) within the Executive Office of the President. The purpose of the program is to reduce drug trafficking and production in the United States by:

  • Facilitating information sharing and coordinated enforcement efforts among Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement authorities.
  • Improving law enforcement intelligence sharing between Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement organizations.
  • Providing reliable law enforcement intelligence to law enforcement agencies to facilitate the design of effective strategies and operations.
  • Supporting coordinated law enforcement strategies that make the most of available resources to reduce the supply of illegal drugs in designated areas of the United States and in the Nation as a whole.

John J. Martin, CVC HIDTA Executive Director

John J. Martin was appointed as the Executive Director by the Executive Board of the CVC HIDTA in March 2020. Before his appointment, Mr. Martin worked for Kaiser Permanente as the Director of Investigations and Loss Prevention for their National Security Services in Oakland, CA.

Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente, Mr. Martin served in the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) for 22 years. He was appointed to lead the DEA’s Diversion Control Division as the Assistant Administrator in March 2018, a role he held until his retirement in July 2019.

From 2015 to 2018, Mr. Martin served as the Special Agent in Charge of the DEA San Francisco Field Division, where he oversaw all enforcement operations, drug diversion, and regulatory investigations throughout Northern California and the Central Valley.

John J. Martin

Mr. Martin began his career with the DEA in 1997 as a Special Agent in California. He worked in a variety of enforcement and task force groups and conducted numerous narcotics and money laundering investigations. Mr. Martin served in many leadership roles, including: 

  • HIDTA Commander for the San Francisco Bay Area Interdiction Task Force (2006-2009)
  • Resident Agent in Charge of the Oakland Resident Office (2009–2011)
  • Inspector for the DEA’s Office of Professional Responsibility in Los Angeles, CA (2011–2012)
  • Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division (2012-2014) and the Las Vegas District Office (2014-2015)
In these leadership roles, Mr. Martin supervised several enforcement, task force, and diversion groups in major metropolitan areas.
Mr. Martin graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1991 and served for six years in the U.S. Marine Corps.