In 2023, fatal drug overdoses peaked at more than 112,000 deaths, the highest number in U.S. history. Most of the attention is focused on the border with Mexico, but massive quantities of narcotics continue to move through the Caribbean to the coasts of Florida. The best way to keep the drugs that kill Americans out of Florida is to stop them long before they reach our shores, working with partners in the region to block the flow much closer to the source. In other words, reduce the number of narcotics that end up in Miami by making sure they don’t end up there in the first place.
The Biden administration unveiled its anti-narcotics strategy for the Caribbean almost two years ago. The strategy accurately identifies drug smuggling through the Caribbean as one of the main vectors of illicit drugs flowing into the United States, and also identifies some common sense countermeasures, such as anti-narcotics patrols, intelligence sharing, and strengthening port security. . So far, however, the administration has had difficulty executing this plan, in part because it has underestimated the importance of incentivizing and enabling our regional partners.
The Coast Guard is our most effective asset for port security in the Caribbean, and international cooperation is the greatest force multiplier at its disposal. By working with other countries’ militaries and law enforcement agencies, the Coast Guard can stop drugs long before they reach the Florida coast.
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These drugs typically come from South America and are smuggled into the United States through trade routes and ports throughout the Caribbean. In some cases, drugs move because of lax security protocols or corrupt officials, but often the problem is a lack of capacity and inadequate training. By expanding its foreign port security program, the Coast Guard can help our Caribbean partners do a better job of protecting their facilities and increase the percentage of drugs seized in foreign ports before reaching the U.S.
In other parts of the hemisphere, such as Mexico, U.S. counternarcotics cooperation is severely limited by corruption and political hostilities. However, the Caribbean is a generally friendly sea in geopolitical terms, and most local governments are eager to work with the United States to promote regional security. In fact, the United States already has enthusiastic partners in countries like the Dominican Republic, which have made a concerted effort to bolster their counternarcotics operations. The United States also works closely with the Netherlands on joint counternarcotics operations from Aruba and Curaçao.
A little can go a long way in the Caribbean, and small investments in regional security can have a dramatic effect. Donations of low-cost equipment to Caribbean partners can have a dramatic impact on U.S. partners’ counternarcotics capabilities, while sending an important message about U.S. commitments to regional security.
The Dominican Republic, for example, needs better radar and tactical communications technologies to identify and respond to drug shipments more effectively. Jamaica would benefit from a training team to ensure its forces are adequately trained and prepared to take on well-funded drug traffickers. Likewise, a small number of U.S. military personnel training with military and police forces in countries like Jamaica or Trinidad and Tobago would send a signal to local partners that the United States is interested in their well-being and willing to work with them to address what what is happening. Without a doubt, the biggest security problem in the region.
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The United States can also bolster investments in its own counternarcotics capabilities. A persistent complaint of the US Southern Command is that a lack of resources forces it to watch shipments of illegal drugs enter the United States. This is an unacceptable reality that must change. Ensuring that the United States devotes adequate resources to confront the growing threat of illicit narcotics trafficking should be a top priority for the White House. To that end, the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico could become a counternarcotics coordination center in the Caribbean, with appropriate expansions of the Coast Guard presence and fleet.
In the past, partnerships between the US Southern Command and Colombia were critical to keeping Florida safe and taking the fight to the cartels. It is time for the United States to apply that same political will and commitment to the rest of the Caribbean and truly address the challenge of the deadly narcotics trade. Prioritizing Caribbean partners for port security programs and training exercises will give them the tools and incentives to make a greater impact on drug trafficking. Communities in Florida and across the country will reap those benefits for years to come.
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