DEA
Congressional Testimony
Statement
by:
Michael S.
Vigil
Special Agent in Charge
Caribbean Field Division
Drug Enforcement Administration
Before
the:
Subcommittee
on Criminal Justice Oversight, Committee on the Judiciary
Date:
May 9, 2000
Note: This document
may not reflect changes made in actual delivery.
Mr. Chairman, Members
of the Subcommittee: I appreciate the opportunity to appear today to discuss
the issue of drug trafficking throughout the Caribbean. I would first
like to thank the Subcommittee for its continued support of the Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA) and overall support of drug law enforcement.
As all of you are
aware, the international drug syndicates operating throughout our hemisphere
are resourceful, adaptable and extremely powerful. These syndicates have
an unprecedented level of sophistication and are more powerful and influential
than any of the organized crime enterprises preceding them. Traditional
organized crime syndicates, operating within the United States over the
course of last century, simply cannot compare to the Colombian and Mexican
drug trafficking organizations functioning in this hemisphere. These drug
trafficking organizations have at their disposal an arsenal of technology,
weapons and allies, corrupted law enforcement, and government officials
enabling them to dominate the illegal drug market in ways not previously
thought possible. The leaders of these drug trafficking organizations
oversee a multi-billion dollar cocaine and heroin industry which have
wreaked havoc on communities throughout the United States
Over the last two
decades, cocaine trafficking over the United States' southern border has
shifted between the Southwest border and the South Florida/Caribbean corridor.
In the 1980s, most of the cocaine that entered the United States transited
the Caribbean and South Florida. With increased law enforcement pressure,
the South American cartels eventually built new alliances with criminals
in Mexico in order to gain access to their long-established smuggling
routes into the United States.
The Colombian drug
cartels turned increasingly to the Southwest border in the 1990s. By June,
1996 approximately 70 percent of the cocaine in the United States transited
Mexico, prompting the United States to concentrate its law enforcement
resources on the Southwest border. Today, five years into the Southwest
Border Initiative, drug trafficking is once again increasing in and
through the Caribbean/South Florida corridor.
For purposes of this
hearing, I will provide an overview and assessment of the drug trafficking
situation in the Caribbean, then specifically address drug-related issues
in Puerto Rico and Haiti. In concluding, I will briefly discuss some recently
concluded joint law enforcement operations and initiatives in the Caribbean.
Trafficking
through the Caribbean to the United States:
The Caribbean has
long been an important transit zone for drugs entering the United States
and Europe from South America. The drugs are transported through the region,
to both the United States and Europe, through a wide variety of routes
and methods. The primary method for smuggling large quantities of cocaine
through the Caribbean to the United States is via maritime vessels. Go-fast
boats (small launches with powerful motors), bulk cargo freighters, and
containerized cargo vessels are the most common conveyances for moving
large quantities of cocaine through the region. Drug traffickers also
routinely transport smaller quantities of cocaine from Colombia to clandestine
landing strips in the Caribbean, using single or twin-engine aircraft.
Traffickers also airdrop cocaine loads to waiting land vehicles and/or
maritime vessels.
Couriers transport
smaller quantities of cocaine on commercial flights from the Caribbean
to the United States. Couriers transport cocaine by concealing small multi-kilogram
quantities of cocaine on their person or in baggage. Couriers also transport
small quantities (up to one kilogram) of cocaine by ingesting the product.
Compared to cocaine,
heroin movement through the Caribbean is limited. Heroin is generally
not consumed in the Caribbean, but rather is transshipped to Puerto Rico
or the Continental United States. Almost all of the heroin transiting
the Caribbean originates in Colombia. Couriers generally transport kilogram
quantities of Colombian heroin on commercial flights from South America
to Puerto Rico or the Continental United States, concealing the heroin
on their person or in baggage. Couriers also transport smaller quantities
(up to one kilogram) of heroin by concealing the heroin through ingestion.
The couriers sometimes make one or two stops at various Caribbean islands
in an effort to mask their original point of departure from law enforcement.
Jamaica remains the
only significant Caribbean source country for marijuana destined to the
United States. Go-fast boats from Jamaica often transport multi-hundred
kilogram quantities of marijuana through Cuban and Bahamian waters to
Florida.
The Caribbean also
plays an important role in drug-related money laundering. Many Caribbean
countries have well-developed offshore banking systems and bank secrecy
laws that facilitate money laundering. In countries with less developed
banking systems, money is often moved through these countries in bulk
shipments of cash - the ill-gotten proceeds of selling illicit drugs in
the United States. The ultimate destination of the currency and/or assets
is other Caribbean countries or South America.
Drug
Trafficking Through Puerto Rico:
More than ever, international
drug trafficking organizations utilize Puerto Rico as a major point of
entry for the transshipment of multi-ton quantities of cocaine being smuggled
into the United States. Puerto Rico has become known as a gateway for
drugs destined for cities on the East Coast of the United States. Puerto
Rico's 300-mile coastline, the vast number of isolated cays, and six million
square miles of open water between the U.S. and Colombia, make the region
difficult to patrol and ideal for a variety of smuggling methods.
Only 360 miles from
Colombia's North Coast and 80 miles from the East Coast of the Dominican
Republic, Puerto Rico is easily reachable by twin engine aircraft hauling
payloads of 500 to 700 kilograms of cocaine. The "go-fast" boats make
their round trip cocaine runs to the Southern coast of Puerto Rico in
less than a day. Today, cocaine and heroin traffickers from Colombia have
transformed Puerto Rico into the largest staging area in the Caribbean
for illicit drugs destined for the U.S. market.
Once the illicit
narcotics are smuggled into Puerto Rico, they are routinely stored in
secluded, mountainous areas of the island until transportation to the
Continental United States can be arranged. The contraband is then repackaged
into smaller shipments in preparation for the move. The narcotics are
smuggled out of Puerto Rico via commercial maritime vessels and on commercial
airlines, either in the possession of couriers, or concealed in cargo.
Puerto Rico is an
active Caribbean sea and air transportation thoroughfare. The island boasts
the third busiest seaport in North America and fourteenth busiest in the
world, as well as approximately 75 daily commercial airline flights to
the continental United States. This presents an attractive logistical
opportunity for drug trafficking organizations. The sheer volume of commercial
activity is the traffickers' greatest asset. Criminal organizations have
utilized their financial capabilities to corrupt mechanics; longshoremen;
airline employees; and ticket counter agents; as well as government officials
and others, whose corrupt practices broaden the scope of the trafficking.
Not only has corruption
of legitimate business become a problem on the island, but Colombian drug
trafficking organizations will routinely pay local criminal transportation
organizations up to 20 percent of their product (cocaine) for their services.
This form of payment has acted as a catalyst for the development of a
very profitable, but competitive, local distribution market. The interaction
between Colombian drug traffickers and local transporters, along with
the resulting distribution market, is commonly referred to as the "spill-over
effect." This "spill-over effect" has resulted in an increase in violence
and bloodshed within the Puerto Rican community. It is estimated that
about 80 percent of all documented homicides in Puerto Rico are drug related.
Law enforcement efforts are further impeded by the close-knit relationships
shared by the drug trafficking organizations, which have developed and
been fostered over the years.
Personnel
Challenges in Puerto Rico:
The open use of the
Caribbean as a narcotics transshipment center has created a public safety
crisis in Puerto Rico, and DEA must assign resources to the island to
address this threat. Although this is necessary, we have had continuing
difficulties retaining federal law enforcement personnel in the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico. Few personnel from the Continental United States are willing
to accept a transfer to Puerto Rico, and those who do so often want to
leave soon after arrival. Such quality of life issues as inadequate public
services, unreliable utilities, limited accessibility of medical care,
the high cost of living, an exclusionary social structure, limited availability
of appropriate schools for dependent children, and the high incidence
of crime have contributed to early turnover and family separations. As
a result, DEA has in place the following incentive packages for Special
Agents, Diversion Investigators, and Intelligence Analysts relocating
to Puerto Rico:
- Relocation incentives
of up to 25% of base pay (not to exceed $15,000) are tied directly to
remaining in Puerto Rico.
- a Foreign Language
Bonus Program of up to 5% of base pay;
- a Tour of Duty
Office of Preference offer upon completion of the assignment;
- Administrative
leave available to find adequate housing and complete moving arrangements;
- 5 year, Government
funded access, in the San Juan area, to Department of Defense schools
(This now includes the children of support personnel.);
- additional Home
Leave, granted upon extension of assignment;
- Security assistance
for threatened employees, ranging from home and personal automobile
security systems to removal from the area;
- a 10% Cost of
Living adjustment; and
- Department of
Defense Commissary privileges for individuals on tour agreements.
DEA is further exploring
the possibility of instituting incentive initiatives, which are commensurate
with our foreign office assignments. However, DEA has not yet formulated
an official position on making Puerto Rico a foreign posting, as Puerto
Rico is a Commonwealth of the United States. There would need to be a
change in State Department regulations in addition to the passage of legislation
to establish service in Puerto Rico as a foreign posting.
Haiti:
Drug Trafficking Crossroads of the Caribbean:
Haiti is strategically
located in the central Caribbean, occupying the western half of the island
of Hispaniola, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. At 27,750
square kilometers, the country is slightly larger than the state of Maryland.
With the Caribbean to the south, and the open Atlantic Ocean to the north,
Haiti is in an ideal position to facilitate the movement of cocaine and
heroin from Colombia to the U.S. DEA is represented on the Island of Hispaniola
by the Port-au-Prince Country office in Haiti and the Santo Domingo Country
Office in the Dominican Republic.
The island of Hispaniola
is just under 430 miles from Colombia's most northern point, and easily
accessible by twin engine aircraft hauling payloads of 500 to 700 kilos
of cocaine. The two countries on the island, Haiti and the Dominican Republic,
share similar coastal features, facilitating intra-island boat traffic.
Just as is the case with the Dominican Republic, Haiti presents an ideal
location for the staging and transshipment of drugs. Furthermore, there
is effectively no border control between the two countries, allowing essentially
unimpeded traffic back and forth. In addition, there is no effective law
enforcement or judicial system in Haiti, so there are few legal impediments
to drug trafficking. Recently, DEA has significantly increased manpower
on Haiti (from one to seven Special Agents) and increased interdiction
efforts to counter airdrops and identify freighter shipments. However,
recent statistics released by The Interagency Assessment of Cocaine Movement
(IACM), in which the DEA participates, indicates that approximately 15
% of the cocaine entering the United States transits either Haiti or the
Dominican Republic.
Due to the numerous
uncontrolled points of entry and internal instability, vast amounts of
narcotics from South America arrive in Haiti after being transported across
the porous border with the Dominican Republic, and then shipped on to
Puerto Rico
Trafficking
Routes and Methods in Haiti:
Drug smuggling through
Haiti is aided by the country's long coastline, mountainous interior,
numerous uncontrolled airstrips, its 193-mile border with the Dominican
Republic, and its location in the Caribbean. Haiti's thriving contraband
trade, weak democratic institutions, and fledgling police force and judiciary
system, contribute to its utilization by drug traffickers as a transshipment
point.
As is the case throughout
much of the Caribbean, the primary method for smuggling cocaine into Haiti
is via maritime vessels. Traffickers also smuggle cocaine from Colombia
into Haiti via general aviation; either by airdrops at sea or by landing
at clandestine strips. Other common conveyances for smuggling cocaine
into Haiti include cargo freighters, containerized cargo vessels, fishing
vessels, and couriers on commercial aircraft.
As cocaine enters
Haiti, it is usually stored locally until it can be shipped to the United
States or other international markets. Cocaine is often smuggled out of
Haiti in containerized cargo or on bulk cargo freighters directly to Miami.
The cocaine shipments aboard cargo freighters are occasionally off-loaded
to smaller vessels prior to arrival in the Continental United States (CONUS).
Cocaine is also sometimes transferred overland from Haiti to the Dominican
Republic for further transshipment to Puerto Rico, the CONUS, Europe,
and Canada.
There are three primary
smuggling routes for cocaine through Haiti. The first brings cocaine from
Colombia into Haiti via general aviation conducting airdrops at sea. The
second route is from source countries, via Panama or Venezuela, by commercial
shipping. The third route is from source countries, via Panama or Venezuela,
in coastal or fishing vessels.
A Hemispheric
Law Enforcement Response:
With the assistance
of state and local partners domestically as well as counterparts in foreign
governments, DEA works to build cases against, and ultimately incarcerate,
the leaders of these sophisticated criminal syndicates as well as the
underlings they send to other countries. Over time, this strategy serves
to steadily undermine a criminal organization's ability to conduct business,
leaving it even more vulnerable to law enforcement strategies. Successful
cases against the leaders of international drug trafficking groups most
often originate from investigations being conducted in or having a nexus
to, the United States.
The Caribbean Corridor
poses several impediments for a successful law enforcement strategy. First,
the traffickers' use of sophisticated compartments in freighters make
inspections very time consuming and laborious. Second, the volume and
variety of commercial cargo flowing through the Caribbean further exacerbates
inspection and interdiction efforts. Third, the sheer vastness of the
Caribbean frequently makes it difficult to coordinate enforcement efforts
with other countries in the region. As such, any meaningful, effective
interdiction program must almost exclusively depend on quality, time sensitive
intelligence. What was needed in the Caribbean corridor was an intelligence
support network that would effectively serve the countries in the area.
As a result, the
Caribbean Field Division, in an attempt to diffuse this intelligence void,
created the UNICORN system (Unified Caribbean On-Line Regional Network).
With this system, participating Caribbean law enforcement agencies can
share photographs, data, and information concerning various targets, locations,
and groups involved in drug trafficking and money laundering. The Drug
Enforcement Administration loans the equipment to participating agencies
and provides training to host-nation counterparts, as well as installing
and implementing the system.
The UNICORN system
has already reaped tremendous benefits, as exhibited in the success of
Operations Columbus, Genesis and most recently, Conquistador. These enforcement
operations, planned and coordinated by the Caribbean Field Division, have
severely disrupted drug trafficking organizations throughout the Caribbean
region. The first of these operations, dubbed Genesis, was a bi-national
initiative designed to foster cooperation between Haiti and the Dominican
Republic. Due to a mutual, long-standing mistrust, Haiti and the Dominican
Republic had never before coordinated anti-drug efforts. The second action,
titled Operation Columbus, was a multi-national operation, comprised of
fifteen nations and their respective law enforcement agencies. The final
initiative, the recently concluded Operation Conquistador, was a multi-national
regional operation designed to expand upon the successes realized in Operation
Columbus. The following is a brief synopsis of each operation:
Operation
Genesis:
In concept, Operation
Genesis was designed to foster and maintain cooperation between Haiti
and the Dominican Republic. This operation, which was conducted during
November 1998, resulted in 126 arrests throughout Haiti and the Dominican
Republic. Prior to Operation Genesis, Haiti and the Dominican Republic
had never before coordinated their anti-drug efforts. However, the results
garnered through Operation Genesis will undoubtedly assist in improving
the ability to coordinate anti-drug efforts on the island of Hispañola.
The long-term objectives
for Operation Genesis were to promote the exchange of information between
Haiti and the Dominican Republic, facilitate the integration and coordination
of Haitian and Dominican anti-drug efforts, establish a mechanism that
will support the counter-drug effort, develop institutional mentoring
and training, and disrupt drug trafficking operations that are being conducted
on the island of Hispañola.
The operation was
executed in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, using roadblocks at
strategic locations and border crossing points, interdiction operations
at the international airports and seaports, and United States Coast Guard
maritime interdiction along the southern coast of Hispañola.
Operation Genesis
resulted in unprecedented exchanges of law enforcement cooperation by
both the Dominican Republic and Haiti. As a result, the Haitian National
Police (HNP) assigned an officer and an analyst to the Dominican National
Drug Control Agency's (DNDC) Santo Domingo office, and four (4) more HNP
officers were stationed at Dominican border crossing points. DNDC officials,
on the other hand, were assigned to the HNP headquarters' at Port-au-Prince,
as well as several Haitian border crossing points.
The exchange of information
was further expedited by the UNICORN system, which facilitated data base
checks of suspicious persons and vehicles that were stopped. The information
was sent to the Caribbean Field Division (CFD)/San Juan office where system
checks were performed. The information was then sent back to the HNP via
the UNICORN system.
Operation
Columbus:
Operation Columbus
was a multi-national regional effort involving the island nations of the
Caribbean, in addition to Colombia, Venezuela and Panama. The operation
focused on air, land and maritime interdiction, eradication and clandestine
airstrip denial. DEA's Santo Domingo Country Office and Trinidad and Tobago
Country Office served as the northern and southern command posts. The
UNICORN system was used to facilitate the exchange of actionable intelligence.
Operation Columbus's principle objectives were:
- The development
of a cohesive/cooperative environment among source and transit countries,
- Disruption of
drug trafficking activities,
- The consolidation
of the counterdrug efforts in the Caribbean transit zone,
- The continued
development of a comprehensive regional strategy.
Operation Columbus
was planned and initiated by the CFD to severely impact the drug trafficking
activities in the Caribbean and source country areas. Columbus was implemented
through interdiction and eradication efforts, enforcement operations involving
the use of undercover agents, confidential sources, Title III interceptions,
and surveillance.
Operation
Conquistador:
Operation Conquistador
was a 17-day multi-national drug enforcement operation involving 26 countries
of the Caribbean, Central and South America. The operation 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. The primary objective of
Operation Conquistador was to develop an effective regional strategy intended
to disrupt drug trafficking activities and criminal organizations operating
throughout the Caribbean.
Operation Conquistador's
main objectives were: 1) The development of a cohesive and cooperative
environment between source and transit countries; 2) The integration within
each country of all counterdrug entities; 3) The continued development
of a comprehensive regional strategy; 4) To facilitate the exchange of
information between the participating countries with the use of the Unified
Caribbean On-line Regional Network (UNICORN); 5) The mentoring and training
of counter-drug entities in host countries; 6) 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 (BATF) conducted
traces of all seized weapons. The operation concluded on March 26, 2000.
Although the arrests
and seizures in Operation Conquistador were extremely impressive, they,
however, were secondary to the cooperation and coordination among the
26 countries that participated in this endeavor. Despite limited resources
and infrastructure in many of the countries, all responded with notable
efforts and results. Throughout the duration of the operation, all participants
exchanged information with each other through the UNICORN system.
Conclusion:
The transit of illegal
drugs throughout the Caribbean creates unique challenges to law enforcement.
DEA is aggressively addressing the drug trafficking threat and working
to improve the ability of DEA personnel assigned to the region to confront
the threat. In addition, DEA will continue to assist and support our Caribbean
counterparts in the counterdrug arena. With the recent successes of the
law enforcement initiatives I detailed earlier, cooperation among the
DEA and the island nations in the region are continually progressing.
We must sustain this cooperative effort to effectively identify and target
the drug organizations operating throughout the Caribbean.
Mr. Chairman, thank
you for the opportunity to appear before this committee. I appreciate
the interest you and the subcommittee have shown in DEA's drug law enforcement
efforts in the Caribbean. At this time, I will be happy to answer any
questions you or the other committee members may have.
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