Testimony of Donnie R. Marshall, administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration, Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, May 15, 2001

Testimony of Donnie R. Marshall, administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration, Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, May 15, 2001
Remarks by
Donnie R. Marshall
Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration
United States Department of Justice
Before the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control

The Transit Zone: Strategy and Balance

Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Biden, distinguished members of the Caucus: I am pleased to have this opportunity to appear before you today to discuss DEA's strategy and role in combating drugs moving through the transit zone destined for the United States. I would like to begin by thanking the Caucus for its unwavering support of the men and women of the Drug Enforcement Administration in their ongoing efforts to enforce this Nation's drug laws.

First of all, it is important to specify that DEA's primary function as an investigative law enforcement agency is to identify and dismantle the world's most sophisticated drug distribution organizations. DEA's role in interdiction efforts is crucial since the intelligence gained from these operations often provides the information needed to unveil the depth and magnitude of a drug trafficking organization's abilities and intentions. Drug trafficking has evolved into an international business that affects each and every one of us on a daily basis. Decisions made in Bogota and Mexico City have a direct and immediate impact on what occurs in transit-zone areas like the Dominican Republic and our major cities in the United States. DEA has crafted a Strategic Plan that aggressively targets the international drug syndicates who control drug trafficking today from the Source Zone, through the transit zone, and into the United States. Since these organizations are intricately interconnected and far-reaching, DEA has developed a seamless cycle of investigations, law enforcement intelligence, and interdiction efforts in order to dismantle them.

The vast majority of the cocaine entering the United States continues to come from the source countries of Colombia, Bolivia and Peru. Heroin produced in Colombia represented more than half of the heroin seized last year in the United States. This cocaine and heroin continues to be shipped via maritime or aircraft through the transit zone which mostly consists of the Mexico-Central America corridor and the Caribbean corridor. The Mexico-Central America corridor is currently the predominant corridor for cocaine flow with the majority transiting the Eastern Pacific Ocean (EPAC). This situation occurred in large part due to increased law enforcement pressure in South America and the Caribbean. Drug traffickers were forced to turn to experienced Mexican smuggling organizations to move their products into the United States. These Mexican organizations now control virtually all cocaine sold in the western half of the United States, and we continue to see numerous attempts to expand into the lucrative East Coast markets. In the last few years, several cocaine seizures, each in the range of metric tons, have occurred in the EPAC. This situation has also caused DEA to focus significant resources along our Southwest border.

The Caribbean has long been a favorite smuggling route, with significant amounts of drugs moving through Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, and Puerto Rico. Mexican trafficking groups normally charge Colombian traffickers 50 percent of each shipment to transport their product through Mexico, while Dominican and Puerto Rican groups offer the same service for as low as 20 percent. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are the United States' southernmost points of entry and provide an excellent gateway for drugs destined for East Coast cities. More importantly, once a drug shipment enters Puerto Rico, it may not be subject to further United States Customs Service (USCS) inspection en route to the continental United States. This incentive, coupled with close proximity to the Dominican Republic (80 miles) and Colombia's north coast (360 miles), make it essential for DEA to keep a strong and vigilant presence in the Caribbean.

The following is an account of DEA's balanced strategy and a short description of operational endeavors that have successfully impacted the transit zone, primarily the Mexico-Central America corridor and the Caribbean corridor.

The Transit Zone: Balance and Strategy

Threat Assessment

Recent estimates show that overall detected primary flow of cocaine in the transit zone was approximately 645 metric tons in 2000. In 2000, most cocaine continued to move through the Mexico-Central America corridor, which accounted for almost 66 percent of the total U.S. flow (the other 31 percent moved through the Caribbean corridor, and just three percent moved directly to the United States). DEA reporting of law enforcement seizures during 2000 and 2001 indicates the volume of EPAC and Central America drug trafficking has significantly increased.

Mexico-Central American Corridor

Situation Analysis

Detected cocaine flow in the Mexico-Central America corridor in 2000 was approximately 425 metric tons. Approximately 323 metric tons of this cocaine transited the EPAC. These increases in detected flow were mostly due to better intelligence and detection.

Eastern Pacific Vector (EPAC)

Current intelligence estimates indicate that approximately 50 percent of the detected cocaine flow to the United States in 2000 transited the EPAC, most of which was non-commercial maritime movement (go-fast boats and fishing vessels) traveling directly to Mexico. Noncommercial maritime methods accounted for 88 percent of all detected primary movements through the transit zone, up slightly from 80 percent detected in 1999.

Multi-ton quantities of drugs moving into Mexico from Colombia involved the use of Colombian-flagged vessels. Go-fast boats continued to transport drugs from Colombia to Mexico or other EPAC offload sites, with fishing vessels providing both transport and refueling support. DEA's El Paso Intelligence Center reports that while the long-range go-fast mothership is still being used, drug traffickers are increasingly turning to EPAC fishing vessels to move multi-ton cocaine shipments. Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF)-West and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) have considered this an operational response by the traffickers due to disruptions of go-fast mothership supply lines and interdiction efforts by law enforcement.

In response to this increased EPAC drug traffic, the Government of Mexico initiated Operation Sellamiento in 1998, which is designed to seal off Mexico's border and coastlines from drug smugglers. This operation was enhanced in May 2001 with the acquisition of additional ships, patrol boats, and surveillance aircraft, as well as the establishment of a 260-man elite Naval task force capable of carrying out maritime actions on land and sea.

Central America is a major transshipment point for drugs from Colombia and other South American source countries, onward to Mexico for distribution in the United States. This region is also used as a storage and transshipment region, and as a warehouse for the temporary storage and repackaging of drug shipments by South American polydrug trafficking organizations. South American drug trafficking organizations use land, maritime, and air trafficking, routes via the Pan- American highway, the EPAC, and clandestine airstrips. Central America will continue to be used as a pit stop for refueling or as a rendezvous point for exchange of narcotics from one fishing vessel or go-fast boat to another.

Since 1996, cocaine smuggling into and through Mexico has shifted from large cargo aircraft to maritime conveyances (especially via the EPAC).

Major EPAC Seizures

-- In April 2001, approximately four metric tons of cocaine were seized from the fishing vessel Tolteca in Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico.

-- In February 2001, approximately eight metric tons of cocaine were seized from the fishing vessel Forever My Friend off the coast of Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico.

-- In December 1999, approximately 8.5 metric tons of cocaine were seized from the fishing vessel Alfonso Martinez Dominguez 11 off the coast of Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico.

-- In August 1999, approximately 9.5 metric tons of cocaine were seized from the fishing vessel Xoloescuintle off the coast of Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico.

Major Central America Transit Zone Seizures

-- In March 1999, over 2.5 metric tons of cocaine were seized from three trucks entering Guatemala from El Salvador.

-- In April 2001, almost one metric ton of cocaine was seized from a gravel truck en route from the Colon Free Zone to Panama City, Panama.

-- In February 2001, approximately one metric ton of cocaine was seized from a ranch near Escuintla, Guatemala, where the drugs were being stored for shipment to Mexico.

DEA Counternarcotics Initiatives in the EPAC

DEA has initiated and supported various counternarcotics enforcement and intelligence programs in the Mexico-Central America corridor to combat the trafficking of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine marijuana, and precursor chemicals via ground, maritime and air. As intelligence collection, bilateral coordination, and Mexican law enforcement responses to the maritime cocaine threat have improved, the DEA Mexico Country Office has established mechanisms to quickly react to interdiction events and seizures in the EPAC with detailed follow-up investigations.

DEA Country Offices in Mexico and Central America provide a concerted, proactive law enforcement approach targeting Colombian drug sources who rely heavily on Central American and Mexican polydrug transportation and distribution organizations. DEA Country Offices in Mexico and Central America coordinate joint regional interdiction and eradication operations with their law enforcement counterparts and United States Government (USG) military to provide a regional approach to combating source country and transportation and distribution groups that operate in Central America and Mexico. To carry out the regional mission, DEA Central and South America Country Offices are currently identifying the most significant drug trafficking organizations operating in the transit zone.

DEA Operations in the Transit Zone (Mexico-Central America Corridor)

Operation Tiburon

The primary mission of Operation Tiburon is to gather intelligence and identify the current capabilities and structures of maritime and air smuggling organizations with international routes through the Pacific coastal regions of Mexico. Due to the link between maritime and air smuggling operations, transportation facilitators have become more diversified and are utilizing multi-faceted means of transporting narcotics into the United States from Mexico. This operation is managed by the DEA Mazatlan, Mexico Resident Office.

Operation Tormenta Azul

The primary mission of Operation Tormenta Azul is to collect intelligence information on the drug transshipment activities along both Nicaraguan coasts. This includes intelligence to collect information on individuals and organizations involved in the transshipment of cocaine from Colombia to the United States via Nicaragua; to identify vessels involved in the movement of cocaine; to identify maritime drug routes along the Western Caribbean; to identify drug storage sites located along the coast; and to notify Nicaraguan law enforcement authorities to execute activities when information collected indicates target and activity can be interdicted. This operation is managed by the DEA Managua Country Office.

Operation Landbridge

Operation Landbridge tracks and obtains intelligence regarding the smuggling of drugs and drug-related proceeds via tractor-trailers through Central America to the United States by South American drug trafficking organizations. The primary targets are Central American transportation organizations. This initiative tracks tractor-trailer movements and the transportation of cocaine, heroin, precursor chemicals and drug proceeds throughout Central America, thereby providing the necessary assets to attack the infrastructure of the identified criminal organizations. The operation also assists foreign and domestic DEA offices in identifying international drug trafficking organizations operating in their areas of responsibility. Operation Landbridge is managed by DEA Country Offices in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.

Operation Landbridge is the most visible and successful DEA operation in Central America. The successes of Operation Landbridge include the arrest of Colombian trafficker Jose Guillermo Gomez-Ramirez aka "Memo" in Panama on February 9, 2000 and the cumulative seizure of 7,000 kilograms of cocaine as a result of related investigations.

Operation Tocumenta

The primary mission of Operation Tocumen is to collect and disseminate information regarding the current status of the commercial and private air industry as it relates to the trafficking of drugs from Panama to the United States and Europe. This operation also collects information, used to seize narcotics from couriers passing through Panama's Tocumen International Airport, and to identify and dismantle drug trafficking organizations and seize their assets. Operation Tocumen is managed by the DEA Panama Country Office. Successes in 2000 -- for Operation Tocumen include the seizure of over 40 kilograms of heroin en route to the United States and Europe. Since January 1, 2001, the amount of heroin seized by the Tocumen Panama airport task force unit is nearing the total seized during calendar year 2000 (50.59 kilograms seized in 2001, as compared to 69 kilograms in 2000).

Operation Central Skies

Operation Central Skies is an initiative of the Department of Defense (DOD) (administered by the U.S. Southern Command), which first began in June 1998. Operation Central Skies was designed to provide U.S. Army air assets (Blackhawk UH60 and Chinook UH-47 helicopters) based in Sotocano, Honduras, to support the counter-drug operations of various Central American countries. Costa Rica hosted the first Operation Central Skies deployment in June 1998, after first obtaining Host Nation concurrence. Currently, Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador participate in Operation Central Skies deployments. The typical Operation Central Skies package consists of four helicopters, a complement of approximately 100 temporary personnel, an extensive pre-planning segment, and a total resource commitment by the respective DEA Country Offices.

Operation Central Skies has served as a successful training mechanism for Host Nation counterparts by U.S. military personnel and has achieved successes in joint eradication efforts in Central America. In 2000, a total of 2,287,322 cannabis plants and 12,500 poppy plants were eradicated as a result of Operation Central Skies deployments in Belize, Costa Rica and Guatemala.

Expansion of DEA Counternarcotics Operations in the Mexico-Central America Corridor

Semi-Vetted Unit in El Salvador

El Salvador plans to modernize and improve the counter-drug effectiveness of the Anti-Narcotics Division, which suffered a major setback with the advent of three major earthquakes in January and February of 2001. The DEA San Salvador Country Office believes the most important step that can be taken is the creation of an INL/DEA supported semi-vetted investigative unit.

Anti-Smuggling Units in Guatemala

The recent establishment of a 15-man anti-smuggling unit in Guatemala, comprised of members hand-picked by DEA and the DOS' Narcotics Affairs Section (NAS), has been a great accomplishment. The unit is provided specialized training from DEA/NAS-Customs and appropriate equipment. The unit also receives performance incentives for successful enforcement activities. The operation of this unit includes deployment from the lead Guatemalan law enforcement agency headquarters to a roadside inspection site, border crossing, and the inspection of marine type containers and documents. The unit is also supported by a canine team which accompanies the unit on its deployments. There have been two separate seizures totaling 158 kilograms of cocaine. Although the unit is an expensive proposition, DEA and NAS agree that it is the best possible solution to curb drug flows through Guatemala. A similar second unit is anticipated in the future which may require additional USG funding.

Trusted Task Force in Honduras

To ensure the success of bilateral counternarcotics operations in Honduras, the DEA Tegucigalpa Country Office is planning the development of a DEA "trusted" Task Force recently funded with INL monies. This Task Force would operate under the direct guidance of Tegucigalpa Country Office personnel in the north coast of Honduras.

Mobile Inspection Team in Nicaragua

On February 26, 2001, the Nicaraguan National Police (NNP) and the U.S. Embassy held a ceremony to publicize the inauguration of the Mobile Inspection Unit (MIU). At the ceremony, an estimated $150,000 worth of equipment designed to dismantle suspect vehicles on traditional and alternative land routes was turned over to the NNP. INL Managua purchased the equipment based on ideas and plans generated by the DEA Managua Country Office. Since its establishment, the MIU has effected two seizures totaling 1,342 kilograms of cocaine.

Sensitive Investigative Unit and Airport Interdiction Programs in Panama

As a result of Plan Colombia funding received by the Department of Justice Criminal Division, $2.5 million has been identified for a Panamanian Judicial Police vetted unit, $1 million for the Panamanian National Maritime Service and $500,000 for the Panamanian National Police Darien Border Force. The agreements will be ratified with the Government of Panama in the near future as enhancements to existing law enforcement foreign aid.

Caribbean Corridor

Situation Analysis

Current reports indicate that the Caribbean corridor accounted for about 31 percent of total transit-zone flow for 2000. In the Caribbean, drug trafficking organizations are able to take advantage of geographical features that facilitate successful drug smuggling operations. Maritime and airdrop operations are the primary methods used to transport illicit drugs through this corridor. Traffickers transport cocaine, heroin and marijuana via high performance go-fast boats, containerized cargo, cruise ships, fishing vessels, mothership operations, yachts, commercial and noncommercial aircraft. These various methods, combined with the region's relatively weak law enforcement infrastructure, allow trafficking and transportation organizations to achieve a flexible response capacity which enables them to quickly shift their operational patterns to counter United States interdiction efforts. In order to counter this capability, DEA focuses on improving the region's counter-drug capabilities via liaison and institutional mentoring with Host Nation governments, and by attacking the command and control structures of the drug trafficking organizations.

Puerto Rico's Role in the Caribbean

Puerto Rico plays a key role in Caribbean smuggling operations by serving as both an arrival and transit zone. A significant portion of the drugs that enter the island is consumed by the local population. In addition, traffickers use this location as a staging point for further transshipment of illicit narcotics to the United States. These activities are facilitated by Puerto Rico's status as a regional commercial nexus with significant air and maritime links to the Continental United States (CONUS). In addition, because the island is American territory, the USCS does not have the authority to search any cargo that is leaving the island for CONUS.

Jamaica's Role in the Caribbean

Due to its location between South America and CONUS, Jamaica is a significant transshipment point for cocaine smuggled through the Caribbean. USG inter-agency estimates state that during 2000, approximately 11 percent of the cocaine smuggled into the United States transited Jamaica. According to DEA's Caribbean Field Division reporting, United States And Jamaican intelligence has revealed an increased presence in Jamaica of Colombian traffickers arranging for the transshipment of cocaine. Intelligence also indicates that maritime methods are the primary tactics being used to smuggle cocaine into and out of the country.

Jamaica is the only significant source of marijuana produced in the Caribbean for distribution in the United States. Production is a year-round activity, with two major harvesting peaks, one in the spring and a larger harvest in the fall. Marijuana crops are planted in swamps and along the hills and valleys of remote areas that have limited road access. The Government of Jamaica has made a strong commitment to eradication via Operation Buccaneer. Under this initiative, Jamaica's security forces identify and eradicate marijuana sites throughout the country. United States mission components include DEA, NAS and the Tactical Analysis Team. However, during 2001, the Jamaican Defense Force, normally assigned eradication duties, was diverted to other domestic responsibilities, such as prison security and street crime enforcement with local police.

Haiti's Role in the Caribbean

According to the USG inter-agency estimates, during 2000, approximately nine percent of the cocaine destined for the United States transited Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Noncommercial maritime methods, primarily go-fast boats, were the principal methodology used to smuggle cocaine to the area. The cocaine then leaves Haiti or the Dominican Republic via coastal freighters destined for the CONUS or Europe.

Haiti will remain a primary trafficking vector in the Caribbean. The country lacks the resources, political will and law enforcement infrastructure needed to significantly impact drug trafficking operations and organizations. Intelligence indicates that corruption is deeply rooted throughout the Haitian government, further hindering law enforcement efforts. Haiti's long coast line, mountainous interior, lack of physical infrastructure and 193-mile border with the Dominican Republic also facilitate drug trafficking activities and are major impediments to counternarcotics efforts.

DEA's Counternarcotics Initiatives in the Caribbean Corridor

The overall objective of the Caribbean Field Division is to reduce the capabilities of major drug trafficking organizations and distribution networks throughout the region and thereby stem the flow of drugs through the Caribbean trafficking corridor to the CONUS. The operational focus of the Caribbean Field Division is to attack the command and control of international and domestic drug trafficking organizations through the arrest, prosecution, conviction and incarceration of criminal leaders and their organizational members.

To achieve this goal, DEA continues its aggressive efforts to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking, transportation and distribution operations and organizations that are conducting smuggling activities within the Caribbean transit zone. According to USG estimates, approximately 31 percent of the cocaine entering the United States is smuggled through the Caribbean corridor. Individual nations within the transit zone lack the necessary resources to effectively counter this threat. In order to maximize the effectiveness of scarce resources, DEA initiated a series of multinational regional operations designed to create an integrated regional response to drug trafficking activities. During the last operation, which took place during October 2000, 36 nations participated. Furthermore, DEA liaison is constantly being cultivated by counterparts in partner nations in order to enhance coordination, experience, and the development of sophisticated investigative techniques.

The principal objectives of these initiatives were to create a comprehensive regional strategy and a cooperative counter-drug environment. This was accomplished by integrating all participating counter-drug entities and establishing an operational nexus between the Caribbean, South America, Central America and Mexico. Command, control and communication were facilitated by the UNICORN system, which is an encrypted E-mail/computer communication network linking the counter-drug entities of 36 nations.

Multi-national regional initiatives have had a positive effect on disrupting the flow of drugs through the Caribbean for several reasons. First, from an operational perspective, the use of the UNICORN system by law enforcement organizations from. different countries establishes a viable intelligence sharing network and the necessary communication structure needed to coordinate long-term operations. Secondly, the extensive political support for counter- drug efforts that continues to be generated by these types of initiatives facilitates the integration of anti-narcotics efforts. Thirdly, many participating countries strengthen their bilateral and multilateral relationships during operational phases.

Regional operations are critical to enhancing the abilities of DEA's counterparts and provide the potential for long-term benefits. Increased coordination, experience and sophisticated investigative techniques will facilitate the region's capability to conduct complex investigations targeting the leadership of significant drug trafficking organizations. This is illustrated by the recent establishment of a judicially authorized wiretap program in the Dominican Republic. Future initiatives will facilitate the integration of enforcement assets and promote an environment of trust between countries in South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Regional Operations in the Caribbean

Operation Columbus

Operation Columbus, which ran from September 29, 1999 to October 10, 1999, was a multi-national regional operation involving 15 Caribbean nations, plus Colombia, Venezuela and Panama. The primary objective was to establish a cohesive and cooperative counter-drug environment and develop a regional strategy that integrated anti-narcotics efforts. The UNICORN system was used to facilitate command, control and coordination between the counter-drug entities that participated in the operation. The Dominican Republic served as the northern command post and Trinidad and Tobago served as the southern command post. Operation Columbus also disrupted drug trafficking activities within the Caribbean transit zone. The concepts and operational methodologies that were implemented during Operation Columbus were expanded during Operation Conquistador and Liberator.

Operation Conquistador

Operation Conquistador, which ran from March 10, 2000 to March 26, 2000, was a multi-national regional operation involving 25 nations. This initiative broadened the success obtained during Operation Columbus by establishing an operational nexus between Caribbean, South American and Central American counter-drug entities.

Operation Liberator

Operation Liberator, which took place during October 2000, was a multinational, regional operation that followed up on the successes achieved during Operation Columbus and Conquistador. The initiative was a 36-nation effort involving counter-drug entities from the Caribbean, South America, Central America and Mexico.

Operation Bahamas and Turk and Caicos (OPBAT)

Established in 1982, Operation Bahamas and Turk and Caicos (OPBAT) is an ongoing multi-agency international operation with bases in Nassau, Great Exuma and Freeport. The initiative is a joint DEA, USCG, DOD, DOS and the Bahamian National Police interdiction strike force operating from U.S.-funded helicopter bases. Royal Bahamas Defense Forces officers are also assigned to USCG cutters.

OPBAT has resulted in approximately:

-- 67 metric tons of cocaine seized
-- 328 metric tons of marijuana seized
-- $32 million in assets seized
-- 1,228 traffickers arrested

Expansion of DEA Counternarcorics Operations in the Caribbean

Caribbean Law Enforcement-Intelligence Committee (CLEIC)

Members (identified below) of the CLEIC meet once a month at the USCG facility in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. The purpose of the CLEIC is to provide an open forum for the sharing of information and to encourage and foster inter-agency and international cooperation. This forum can also be used to discuss operations and operational needs and taskings.

Agencies represented at the CLEIC include DEA, Federal Bureau of Investigations, USCS, United States Marshals Service, Puerto Rico Police Department, National Drug Intelligence Center, JIATF-East, Joint Task Force-6, DOD/United States Army Intelligence, DOS and foreign law enforcement officials from St. Martin (Dutch/French), St. Barthelemy, British Virgin Islands, Curacao, Netherlands Antilles and the British Consulate in Miami.

Venezuela

Situation Analysis

Venezuela's geographic location and outstanding port facilities make it a natural gateway for drugs transiting from Colombia to the United States and Europe, as well as for essential chemicals smuggled through Venezuela to Colombia. In addition, Venezuela is a significant country for drug money laundering activities, due to its proximity to Colombia, and the size and sophistication of its financial markets.

The vast majority of drug traffic transiting through Venezuela consists of cocaine and heroin from neighboring Colombia. Venezuela is a major cocaine transshipment corridor, with multi-ton quantities passing through the country each year destined for the United States and Europe. By some USG estimates, over 100 metric tons of cocaine transit Venezuela annually. Cocaine enters Venezuela from Colombia by air, overland or river routes and then exits Venezuela primarily by containerized cargo, commercial sea vessels and commercial airplanes. Illicit opium poppies are cultivated along Venezuela's northwestern border with Colombia and the extracted opium latex is then transported to Colombia for processing into heroin. Heroin from Colombia is commonly smuggled by couriers either internally or in luggage via commercial air routes to international destinations.

Venezuela serves as an important conduit for essential chemicals used in Colombian cocaine hydrochloride (HCI) conversion laboratories. Chemicals originating in the United States and Europe enter Venezuela either legitimately or disguised as other products. These chemicals then are diverted for illicit use and transported overland or by maritime vessel to Colombian cocaine processing laboratories.

Colombian drug traffickers dominate Venezuelan cocaine trafficking, relying --upon splinter Venezuelan trafficking groups to arrange for drug transportation to the international market once the cocaine arrives in Venezuela, Intelligence indicates that Colombians are storing multi-ton quantities of cocaine inside Venezuela before onward shipment to international destinations. Italian Organized Crime figures are also active in Venezuela involved in trafficking cocaine, heroin and marijuana and, at times, work in concert with Colombian violators.

DEA's Counternarcotics Initiatives in Venezuela

The DEA Caracas Country Office prioritized the development of a cooperative partnership with the Government of Venezuela focused on proactive joint and regional investigations between DEA and the anti-drug units of Venezuela. Venezuela will continue to be vulnerable to drug flows from Colombia and related problems, such as money laundering, as that country's production increases, and with the implementation of the Plan Colombia initiative against drug production.

The Caracas Country Office conducts a wide variety of bilateral investigations with Venezuelan counterparts focusing on the principal organizations involved in transshipping Colombian cocaine and heroin into the United States, diverting chemical precursors and engaging in money laundering. Investigations are closely coordinated with DEA offices in Barranquilla, Colombia, New York and Miami, in order to dismantle the entire spectrum of the organization, from the source country through the transit country and then on to the destination country. These multi-country operations have brought about a closer working relationship between Venezuelan authorities and the authorities of other countries, particularly Colombia.

Operation Journey provides an outstanding example of the value of the integration of law enforcement intelligence information leading to interdiction, arrests, and prosecutions. Operation Journey targeted Ivan De La Vega from Baranquilla, Colombia and other high level Colombian and European drug traffickers. The Caracas Country Office worked this case in coordination with Host Nation counterparts, other DEA offices, the USCS and Her Majesty's Custom and Excise Service. A multinational enforcement operation led to the seizure of more than eight tons of cocaine and to the arrest of De La Vega and more than 40 other significant organization members throughout Colombia, Venezuela, Europe, and the United States. De La Vega was ultimately expelled from Venezuela to Miami to face charges against him there.

Global Perspective

Law enforcement is creating and implementing a serious, sustained, and coordinated international strategy to deter drug trafficking in the transit zone that applies significant enforcement pressure to all routes and methods (including maritime, air, and land). Absent these efforts, drug traffickers will merely adapt to the situation and modify their actions and drug routes accordingly.

Expansion of Mexican Drug Transportation Operations

Major Mexican drug traffickers are attempting to gain control over international aspects of trafficking by expanding and consolidating relations with Colombian and Peruvian traffickers. DEA investigations have verified the ambitions and enormous capabilities of Mexican-Colombian partnerships using Mexico as a launching pad to United States markets.

DEA's Global Approach to the Transit Zone

International Drug Enforcement Conference

The International Drug Enforcement Conference (IDEC) was established in 1983 in an effort to bring together executive-level drug law enforcement officials in the Western Hemisphere (source and transit zones). The principal purpose of this conference is to share drug related information and develop an operational strategy that can be used against international drug traffickers.

Since its inception, the focus of IDEC has gradually changed to where it is today, an "operationally oriented conference." In the earlier years, IDEC served as a forum to discuss country specific enforcement problems and programs, and later to topical related issues (i.e., money laundering, chemical and air traffic control).

At this year's conference, it was stated that International Drug Trafficking Organizations operate without borders and affect everyone equally in the Caribbean, EPAC, and Southern Cone regions. IDEC representatives recognized this, and were encouraged to build on existing partnerships with their neighbors in combating this shared threat. These partnerships include counterparts actively participating in regional IDEC meetings, and identifying principal drug trafficking organizations that will be targeted as primary drug threats to their regions. All IDEC members agreed that the key to successfully attacking, disrupting and dismantling these "borderless," international drug trafficking organizations lies within themselves and depends on the free and continuous flow of intelligence.

Conclusion

Drug trafficking organizations today have the capacity to overwhelm the defenses of individual nations. These traffickers have adopted a global approach to their operations, consequently amassing billions of dollars of illicit profits, weakening national economies and democratic institutions, spreading violence and destruction, and producing some of the most powerful and corrupting organizations in the world. Therefore, it is incumbent on all nations to structure law enforcement operations which can dismantle these formidable sophisticated traffickers. As a nation, the United Slates must do all it can to ensure that no nation in this hemisphere, large or small, is left to face this powerful trafficking conspiracy alone.

While the United States produces some illicit drugs, the vast majority of U.S. drug consumption depends on drug imports from abroad. To effectively combat this situation, it is essential that we direct our efforts towards all aspects of the problem. These include both the domestic and international dimensions of law enforcement. In other words, any solution to the drug problem in the United States must address both the domestic threat and that which emanates from abroad.

I have continually stressed the importance of developing a concerted, proactive, regional and global approach to reduce drug trafficking in the transit zone. This three-pronged approach would encompass 1) providing a cooperative operational strategy, such as, simultaneous joint operations; 2) sharing intelligence between national governments through joint intelligence sharing mechanisms; and 3) improving the sharing of information among the various law enforcement agencies within nations.

DEA international operations depend, for the most part, on the cooperation and the commitment of our law enforcement counterparts around the world. Because DEA lacks enforcement authority abroad, our international strategy can be implemented only through these global partners. In fact, DEA has been instrumental in changing many aspects of the counter-drug environment worldwide, as evidenced by the many successful counternarcotics initiatives we have coordinated with our partner nations in the transit zone. DEA will continue to be receptive to the needs and suggestions of our partner nations, providing requested resources helpful in the successful dismantlement of global drug trafficking organizations who disrupt the transit zone and other territories throughout the world.

Thank you for the opportunity to address the Senate Caucus on this important topic. I look forward to answering any questions you may have.

As of May 16, 2001, this document was also available online at http://usinfo.state.gov/admin/011/lef215.htm