US warns Caribbean could become new drug route

WASHINGTON, CMC – A United States State Department official has warned that pressure from the US and Mexican law enforcement could make the Caribbean a drug trafficking hub again.



If that happens, it could repeat the interdiction problems experienced in the 1970s and '80s, according to the official, who's with the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement.



Speaking on background, which means he cannot be quoted by name, the officials told reporters here that his department and other federal law enforcement agencies are eyeing Caribbean nations, like Haiti and the Dominican Republic, as the “next logical” step for cocaine producers to use as the “middleman” to get goods into the US, and also to countries in Europe and western Africa.



“If history holds true, the next logical place will be the Caribbean and places like Hispaniola (the island that comprises Haiti and the Dominican Republic,” the official said.



He referred to the prediction as the “cockroach effect” – apply enough pressure in one place, and smugglers and cartels move their operations somewhere else.



Officials say since the US has focused much of its enforcement efforts on Mexico, the cartels have moved their operations south to Central America.



The US has followed by giving aid to Central American anti-drug operations, which they hope will squeeze the cartels out of those countries, the State Department official said.



US officials say they expect cocaine exporters in countries like Colombia and Venezuela to look to the Caribbean as a “jumping off point” to transship their drugs to the states.



However, the State Department official said he does not anticipate South Florida to be the gateway for most of these illegal drugs to enter the country.



He said the success of the Joint Interagency Task Force, based in Key West, makes major smuggling operations through Florida unlikely.



The State Department official said the United States is working with Caribbean governments in anticipation of the cartels making a shift.



He said much of that effort will be “professionalising” police forces in the region, and teaching prosecutors how to convict members of drug gangs.



“It does you no good to arrest someone if you can't prosecute them,” the official said.



So far, law enforcement officials in the Florida Keys said they have not noticed any increase in drug trafficking there.



The United States, as early as 2006, began a major cooperation effort with the Mexican government to help that country combat violent cartels smuggle drugs across the border into the United States.



William Brownfield, assistant secretary of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, testified before the US Congress last month that the United States has delivered more than US$900 million worth of equipment and training to the Mexican government.



More than 52,000 Mexican police and prosecutors have received professional training by US officials under the cooperative program, Brownfield said.



editorial@gleanerjm.com