|
March
2000
OPERATIONS
CONQUISTADOR & COLUMBUS
Operation Conquistador
was simultaneously launched on March 10, 2000, in Panama, Colombia, Venezuela,
Bolivia, Ecuador, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Montserrat, Dominica,
St. Kitts, Nevis, Antigua, Anguila, St. Martin, British Virgin Islands,
Barbuda, Grenada, Barbados, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Aruba, Curacao, Jamaica,
Haiti, Dominican Republic, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Operation Conquistador
embodied the overall objective of developing effective regional strategies
needed to disrupt drug trafficking activities and criminal organizations.
More significantly, Operation Conquistador united 26 nations in the Caribbean
and source countries in a common goal.
Operation Conquistador's
main objectives were:
- To develop a cohesive
and cooperative environment between source and transit countries.
- To integrate within
each country all counterdrug entities.
- To continue development
of a comprehensive regional strategy.
- To facilitate
the exchange of information between the participating countries with
the use of the Unified Caribbean On-line Regional Network which currently
links 25 countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America, providing
the foundation for many countries to exchange information on tactical
and strategic initiatives and investigations through high speed computers
and sophisticated imagery capabilities.
- To mentor and
train counter-drug entities in host countries.
- To impact and
disrupt drug trafficking organizations in the Caribbean area and source
countries.
Command and control
of the operation was executed from the DEA Caribbean Field Division in
San Juan, PR, with forward command posts in Trinidad & Tobago and
Dominican Republic. The U.S. Coast Guard provided expanded presence of
interdiction assets throughout the Caribbean and executed air and maritime
command and control of sea and airborne drug interdiction assets from
all countries. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms conducted traces
of all seized weapons. The operation concluded on March 26, 2000.
The following are
the results of Operation Conquistador:
- 2,331 Arrests
- 7,376 Searches
of residences, vessels, vehicles and aircraft
- Seizure of 4,966.6
Kilograms of Cocaine
- Eradication of
Coca with a production potential of 25,790 Kilograms
- Destruction of
5,402.7 Kilograms of Coca leaf
- Seizure of 55.6
Kilograms of Heroin
- Seizure of 14.3
Kilograms of Morphine base
- Seizure and destruction
of 362.5 Metric Tons of Marijuana
- Seizure of 3,370
Dosage Units of Dangerous Drugs
- Seizure of 73.4
Kilograms of Hash oil
- Destruction of
94 Cocaine laboratories
- Seizure of 128.8
Metric Tons of Solid Chemical Precursors
- Seizure of 39,094.8
Gallons of Liquid Chemical Precursors
- Seizure of 13
Boats
- Seizure of 172
Vehicles
- Seizure of 83
Weapons
- Seizure of 17,340
rounds of ammunition
- Seizure of $132,772
U.S. Currency
- Seizure of $2,160,845
in assets and properties
As a precursor to
Operation Conquistador, Operation Columbus, concluding in October 1999,
was a multi-national, regional enforcement effort involving Colombia,
Venezuela, and Panama, and the island nations of the Caribbean. This operation
focused on air, land, and maritime interdiction, eradication and clandestine
airstrip denial. The final arrest and seizure statistics for Operation
Columbus were unprecedented for this region, resulting in more than 1,290
arrests, as well as the seizure of 900 kilograms of cocaine and nine kilograms
of heroin. Over 38 weapons, 26 vehicles, 27 vessels, three laboratories
and one aircraft were also seized. In addition, 1,097 metric tons of marijuana
were eradicated. In the end, Operation Columbus struck a solid blow against
the operations of Caribbean-based drug trafficking groups.
|