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luckangeloja

Comparative Criminology | North America - Antigua and Barbuda - 0 views

www-rohan.sdsu.edu/...antiguabarbuda.html

foreign policy Antigua and Barbuda Drugs U.S. Drug Enforcement

shared by luckangeloja on 19 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • Antigua and Barbuda is considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; more significant as an offshore financial center
  • The U.S. Government has maritime drug law enforcement agreements with all seven of the Eastern Caribbean states. A Protocol to amend and update the maritime agreements was submitted to each country in April 2003. The Protocol would permit hot pursuit of maritime drug traffickers into the territorial waters of an Eastern Caribbean state by U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) law enforcement detachments aboard third country ships (e.g., UK). The Protocol also would permit a law enforcement shiprider from any Regional Security System (RSS) member state (The seven Eastern Caribbean states comprise the RSS.) aboard a USCG or third country vessel to authorize drug law enforcement operations in the territorial waters of any RSS member state. Only Antigua and Barbuda has signed the Protocol. To date, none of these countries has signed the Caribbean Maritime Counterdrug Agreement, which would facilitate cooperation among themselves.
  • Most Eastern Caribbean officials regard marijuana production and trafficking as serious offenses, although the question of legalization or decriminalization is being discussed in some quarters. The U.S. supports and encourages eradication campaigns as a means to combat marijuana use in the Eastern Caribbean.
  • luckangeloja on 19 Oct 16
     
    This article discussed the involvement of United States drug enforcement in the Eastern Caribbean. It says that even though several eastern countries have agreed to receive enforcement from the U.S., they have not agreed to receive enforcement from each other. This could help the drug related problems in Antigua and Barbuda and other countries as well.
luckangeloja

Our Partners | ONDCP Antigua and Barbuda - 0 views

ondcp.gov.ag/our-partners

Antigua and Barbuda Drugs Drug Enforcement ONDCP

shared by luckangeloja on 20 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force (ABDF) The mission of the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force is to defend Antigua and Barbuda’s territorial integrity and sovereignty to include, aid to the civil authority, fisheries protection, drug interdiction
  • Due to the involvement of the ONDCP and ABDF in drug interdictions, both entities work in partnership to ensure that our borders remain relatively safe from infiltration by drugs traffickers and those who engage in illegal activities.
  • Although RPFAB have numerous units within the force the ONDCP is mainly in partnership with the Intelligence Unit, the Drug Squad and the Police prosecution department.
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  • Over the years the ONDCP has worked closely along with the Customs and Excise division, sharing useful Information and Intelligence in order to clamp down on Money Laundering, Cross border movement of cash and Illegal Drugs which could be linked to terrorism.
  • luckangeloja on 20 Oct 16
     
    This article listed the forces used to enforce drug related policies in Antigua and Barbuda. There were connections between the local forces and the ONDCP, which is responsible for the U.S.'s anti-drug policies and one of Antigua and Barbuda's primary counter narcotics agencies.
luckangeloja

Antigua and Barbuda Country Profile - International Security Sector Advisory Team (ISSAT) - 0 views

issat.dcaf.ch/...ua-and-Barbuda-Country-Profile

Security Drugs Money Laundering Antigua and Barbuda U.S.

shared by luckangeloja on 20 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • The dual-island state serves as a transit point in the international drugs trade and is home to criminal networks operating human trafficking rings.
  • Antigua and Barbuda was designated by the US State Department in 2013 as being a “Country of Primary Concern” with regards to money laundering. The country’s significant offshore financial sector makes it highly susceptible to the laundering of illicit proceeds from drug trafficking and financial crimes, the State Department noted.
  • The Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force (RABPF) is the primary body responsible for domestic law enforcement and numbers around 600 personnel. It is housed under the Ministry of National Security and Labour.
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  • The Coast Guard conducts drug interdiction operations but, according to the US State Department, lacks the capacity to fully carry these out.
  • Antigua and Barbuda is a part of the Regional Security System (RSS) which seeks to promote cooperation between its members[9] in the Eastern Caribbean in drug interdiction efforts and maritime policing, among other areas.
  • The police are also engaged in the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) programme which was launched in 2011 and provides educational talks to school students on avoiding gangs, violence and drugs.
  • luckangeloja on 20 Oct 16
     
    This article talked about how the safety and security organizations are applied in this country. According to the U.S., the coast guard of this country lacks the numbers that are needed to crack down on drug interdiction operations. If they're were more members, the drug related crimes would obviously go down. This article also touches on how easily money laundering can come from drug trafficking in Antigua and Barbuda.
Ellie McGinnis

2013 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) - 0 views

www.state.gov/...204049.htm

guatemala narcotics security us

shared by Ellie McGinnis on 04 Aug 13 - No Cached
  • more than 80 percent of the primary flow of the cocaine trafficked to the United States first transited through the Central American corridor in 2012.
  • Guatemala’s weak public institutions, pervasive corruption, and porous ports and borders to move illicit products, persons, and bulk cash.
  • Improved law enforcement efforts in Colombia and Mexico, among other factors, led to an increasing volume of precursor chemicals transiting Guatemala.
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  • Guatemala produces opium poppy and synthetic drugs for export
  • ombating drug trafficking one of his administration’s top priorities.
  • President Otto Perez Molina
  • government’s extensive anti-drug efforts and established a mobile land interdiction unit charged with targeting DTOs operating in remote areas
  • Guatemala’s pressing issues include high levels of violence fueled by the drug trade, money laundering, and other organized criminal activities; corruption within the police; and an overburdened and inefficient judicial system
  • Guatemala confronts continuing fiscal challenges in seeking to fund its counternarcotics initiatives. The country has the lowest tax collection rate in Central America and one of the lowest in Latin America.
  • Guatemala had the eighth-highest murder rate in the world
  • Guatemala worked with the United States to arrest high-profile traffickers in 2012
  • Guatemala is a party to the Central American Commission for the Eradication of Production, Traffic, Consumption and Illicit Use of Psychotropic Drugs and Substances
  • Inter-American Convention against Corruption
  • A maritime counternarcotics agreement with the United States is fully implemented
  • Guatemala is one of six countries (along with Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, France, Belize and the United States) that ratified the Caribbean Regional Agreement on Maritime Counter Narcotics, which is now in force.
  • 590 hectares of opium poppy on these missions
  • air interdiction efforts, supported by six U.S.-titled helicopters, have significantly deterred drug flights from entering the country.
  • Guatemala seized 4.7 metric tons (MT) of cocaine in 2012,
  • eight kilograms of heroin
  • $5.6 million in drug-related assets
  • United States intends to work with Guatemala to build capacity for proper storage and/or destruction.
  • uatemala lacks current information
  • underfunded with an annual budget of $450,000, of which approximately 80 percent was used to cover salaries
  • SECCATID developed a school-based drug prevention program, “My First Steps,
  • United States continues to work with the Guatemalan Police Reform Commission to address police reform.
  • Guatemala cooperated with the United States and regional partners on several important counternarcotics initiatives in 2012
  • Guatemala and the United States continued to collaborate on a range of ongoing citizen security, counternarcotics, law enforcement, and rule-of-law initiatives in 2012, including the Central America Regional Security Initiative. U.S. assistan
  • United States provided support to an inter-agency anti-gang unit that brought together the PNC, Attorney General’s office (MP), and analysts from the PNC’s criminal analysis unit (CRADIC) to investigate and dismantle local gang organizations.
  • .S. support for rule-of-law activities, Guatemala increased its capacity to prosecute narcotics traffickers, organized crime leaders, money launderers and corrupt officials.
  • productive relations with Guatemala and will continue to support the government’s efforts to improve its technical and organizational capacity in the security and justice sectors.
  • better equipped to combat narcotics-related crimes in the country by fully implementing the Organized Crime Law
  • The United States encourages the Government of Guatemala to continue implementation of the Asset Seizure Law; quickly implement an anti-corruption law enacted by the Congress in October; approve legislation to regulate the gaming industry; and reform its law governing injunctions, which is often used to delay processes and trials
  • Concrete and substantial police reform, with appropriate budgetary support, is necessary for sustained progress in Guatemala. 
nataliedepaulo1

Annual Reports | Managua, Nicaragua - Embassy of the United States - 0 views

nicaragua.usembassy.gov/arcotics_control_strategy.html

nicaragua

shared by nataliedepaulo1 on 18 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • Nicaragua continued to be a major drug transshipment point for South American cocaine flowing to the United States in 2011. Nicaragua‘s limited law enforcement capabilities and sparsely populated regions provide an enabling environment for drug
  • Drug consumption in Nicaragua rose in 2011, particularly on the Atlantic coast where the transshipment of drugs is highest.
  • U.S. assistance in Nicaragua is focused on enhancing the abilities of government law enforcement agencies to detect and intercept shipments, detain traffickers, stop the laundering of illegal profits from the drug industry, and support preventative programs to protect youth from drugs and recruitment into gangs.
  • nataliedepaulo1 on 18 Oct 16
     
    This article shows the drug issue in Nicaragua and why it is an increasing problem.
Javier E

In Honduras, Deaths Make U.S. Rethink Drug War - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...-make-us-rethink-drug-war.html

foreign policy US drug central america

shared by Javier E on 13 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Fearful that Central America was becoming overrun by organized crime, perhaps worse than in the worst parts of Mexico, the State Department, the D.E.A. and the Pentagon rushed ahead this year with a muscular antidrug program with several Latin American nations, hoping to protect Honduras and use it as a chokepoint to cut off the flow of drugs heading north.
  • the antidrug cooperation, often promoted as a model of international teamwork, into a case study of what can go wrong when the tactics of war are used to fight a crime problem that goes well beyond drugs.
  • “You can’t cure the whole body by just treating the arm,” said Edmundo Orellana, Honduras’s former defense minister and attorney general. “You have to heal the whole thing.”
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  • A sweeping new plan for Honduras, focused more on judicial reform and institution-building, is now being jointly developed by Honduras and the United States. But State Department officials must first reassure Congress that the deaths have been investigated and that new safeguards, like limits on the role of American forces, will be put in place.
  • the new plan, according to a recent draft shown to The New York Times, is more aspirational than anything aimed at combating drugs and impunity in Mexico, or Colombia before that. It includes not just boats and helicopters, but also broad restructuring: several new investigative entities, an expanded vetting program for the police, more power for prosecutors, and a network of safe houses for witnesses.
  • The country’s homicide rate is among the highest in the world, and corruption has chewed through government from top to bottom.
  • The foreign minister, Mr. Corrales, a hulk of a man with a loud laugh and a degree in engineering, said he visited Washington in early 2011 with a request for help in four areas: investigation, impunity, organized crime and corruption.
  • Members of the Honduran police teams told government investigators that they took their orders from the D.E.A. Americans officials said that the FAST teams, deploying tactics honed in Afghanistan, did not feel confident in the Hondurans’ abilities to take the lead.
  • there were no detailed rules governing American participation in law enforcement operations. Honduran officials also described cases in which the rules of engagement for the D.E.A. and the police were vague and ad hoc.
  • the killing — along with the soaring homicide rate and the increased trafficking — sounded alarms in Washington: “It raised for us the specter of Honduras becoming another northern Mexico.”
  • Representative Howard L. Berman of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote to Mrs. Clinton, “Unfortunately, this is not the first time the United States has come perilously close to an overmilitarized strategy toward a country too small and institutionally weak for its citizens to challenge the policy.”
  • Mr. Brownfield, the assistant secretary, said it was impossible to “offer a zero risk program for interdicting drugs in Central America.” He noted that the shootings during interdiction raids happened in the middle of the night, in remote locations that were hard for investigators to reach. Despite these challenges, he said that investigations were conducted and that he was “basically satisfied” that he knew what had happened.
  • From the moment the Honduran pilot departed in his aging Tucano turboprop, just before midnight, he was in radio contact with Colombian authorities, who regularly receive radar intelligence from the American military’s Southern Command.
  • Mr. Corrales, the foreign minister, and some American officials have concluded that the downed planes amounted to misapplied military justice, urged on by societal anger and the broader weaknesses of Honduras’s institutions.
  • Creating a stronger system is at the core of what some officials are now calling Anvil II. A draft of the plan provided by Mr. Corrales shows a major shift toward shoring up judicial institutions with new entities focused on organized and financial crime.
  • The D.E.A.’s role will also probably change. A
  • “It’s a tragedy; there is no confidence in the state,” she said, wearing black in her university office. The old game of cocaine cat-and-mouse tends to look like a quicker fix, she said, with its obvious targets and clear victories measured in tons seized.
  • “This moment presents us with an opportunity for institutional reform,” Dr. Castellanos said. But that will depend on whether the new effort goes after more than just drugs and uproots the criminal networks that have already burrowed into Honduran society.
Javier E

U.S. Turns Its Focus on Drug Smuggling in Honduras - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...rug-smuggling-in-honduras.html

US foreign policy central america drug war trafficking

shared by Javier E on 06 May 12 - Cached
  • Honduras is the latest focal point in America’s drug war. As Mexico puts the squeeze on narcotics barons using its territory as a transit hub, more than 90 percent of the cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela bound for the United States passes through Central America. More than a third of those narcotics make their way through Honduras, a country with vast ungoverned areas — and one of the highest per capita homicide rates in the world.
  • Colonel Brown is now commander of Joint Task Force-Bravo, where he and just 600 troops are responsible for the military’s efforts across all of Central America. He is under orders to maintain a discreet footprint, supporting local authorities and the Drug Enforcement Administration, which leads the American counternarcotics mission.
  • showcases the nation’s new way of war: small-footprint missions with limited numbers of troops, partnerships with foreign military and police forces that take the lead in security operations, and narrowly defined goals, whether aimed at insurgents, terrorists or criminal groups that threaten American interests.
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  • American troops here cannot fire except in self-defense, and they are barred from responding with force even if Honduran or Drug Enforcement Administration agents are in danger. Within these prohibitions, the military marshals personnel, helicopters, surveillance airplanes and logistical support that Honduras and even the State Department and D.E.A. cannot.
Javier E

Trouble in Paradise - 1 views

www.foreignpolicy.com/...trouble_in_paradise

caribbean drug trafficking crime violence economy latin america

shared by Javier E on 23 May 14 - No Cached
  • Over the past decade, Trinidad's murder rate has risen nearly 400 percent; last year, the rate in the capital city of Port of Spain rivaled those in Johannesburg and Baghdad. Proliferating gangs, mostly composed of impoverished young men, are behind many of the killings, centered in the dense suburbs of Port of Spain
  • What has emboldened the gangs and caused the violence? Mostly, drugs. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Trinidad and Tobago has become a major transshipment point for illegal substances heading north from South America. Traffickers send cocaine and small arms from Venezuela, just 7 miles off the coast of Trinidad, via fast boat. The drugs are then shipped out on container ships, planes, and private yachts.
  • he country's annual per capita GDP has risen from about $11,000 to $18,800 in the past decade due to strong exports of natural gas and steel. Still, unemployment remains high, and to create jobs, the government spends about $400 million per year on make-work projects. The bulk of this money is ultimately funneled to gang leaders, who administer "grants" and distribute "salaries." Indeed, corruption -- always a problem in the country -- is reaching new heights. According to several security analysts, a damning unofficial study carried out by the government in 2009 suggested that almost 90 percent of police officers were regularly involved in illegal activities. Those pursuits ranged from running and selling drugs, to colluding with gangs by renting out weapons to criminals, to performing extralegal killings.
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