Stopping Narco-Violence For drug traffickers, moving cocaine from South America to Central America is a matter of exploiting weaknesses. By sea, go-fast boats and semisubmersibles race toward the isthmus, hugging the coast until they find the opportunity to hand off their goods or an opening to reach land. By air, prop planes fly in wide arcs around the airspace of countries that can track them, destined for remote landing strips far out of range of security forces. At the Central American Security Conference (CENTSEC), held from April 18-19, 2012, in San Salvador, El Salvador, leaders from across the isthmus gatherted to discuss shared threats and the strategies that are succeeding. In support of the Central American Regional Security Initiative and the Central American Integration System, Operation Martillo, or “hammer,” launched on January 15, 2012, as one such successful strategy designed to stop drug traffickers from using Central America’s littoral routes. The operation includes U.S. military participation through the Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-South), a component of SOUTHCOM. Operation Martillo and other complimentary partner nations and interagency operations have resulted in a 39 percent overall reduction in air flights, with a 49 percent reduction of air flights into Central America. It has also caused noticeable changes to maritime trafficking patterns, with participants seizing 30 vessels and detaining 102 suspected traffickers, with 52 metric tons seized or disrupted by June 2012. Other nations, such as Honduras, have put into place operations focused on destroying clandestine runways that have allowed traffickers departing from Venezuela and Colombia to use their territory for drug storage and transit. Operation Armadillo identified between 30 and 35 runways during its initial phase in February-March 2012. In that time frame, and in cooperation with the U.S., it destroyed 13 through the use of helicopters departing from forward operating bases, Special Forces and “Sappers,” or engineers specialized in explosives. “This has brought about a reduction in narcotrafficking in this area that has been seen positively by national authorities and cooperating nations,” said Gen. Osorio. Military leaders in Central America have another concern: If they don’t act decisively and collaboratively, drug traffickers and gangs may unite and strengthen. Some say this union has already started, calling the actors “baby cartels,” while others refer to it as the “narco-gang” threat, and underscore the danger of having gangs evolve into powerful, sophisticated cartels that can challenge state stability. Armed forces in the region enjoy strong popular support, with militaries in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua ranking high in polls, according to military leaders. This citizen support, backed by political will, gives the military the authority to take bold action against transnational organized crime. “Traffickers are nimble, but they’re not omnipotent,” JIATF-South’s Rear Adm. Michel said. “They’re businessmen. When enough pain is enough for a businessman, I don’t know the answer to that.” Sources: The Miami Herald, McClatchy Washington Bureau, http://nuevaya.com.ni Countries in what is known as the “Northern Tier” of Central America – El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras – are the most affected by drug trafficking according to the the 2012 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, an annual report by the U.S. Department of State. Nonetheless, the assessment shows that the repercussions impact every country on the narcotrafficking corridor. “Our countries, we all know, are transit countries that narcotraffickers are taking advantage of to conduct their operations,” said General René Osorio, chairman of the Joint Staff of the Honduran Armed Forces. Honduras has the distinction of having captured the first drug trafficking semisubmersible in the Caribbean, with help from the U.S., retrieving some 6.7 metric tons of cocaine in July 2011. General Helmuth René Casados, chief of the Joint Staff of Guatemala, said his country is focusing on bolstering citizen security by closing porous borders and neutralizing another threat that has intensified in recent years, the drug trafficking organization Los Zetas. Gen. Casados said that new ideas, new projects and creativity are the mark of regional security plans discussed at CENTSEC 12, the Conference of Central American Armed Forces (CFAC, for its Spanish acronym) and other international forums. “In our planning process, we are always taking into account that plans are flexible, versatile, and nothing is final,” he said. Territorial Penetration The drug-fighting strategy in Nicaragua, Central America’s largest country by land mass, is known as “Muro de Contención” (Containment Wall). The whole-of-government approach strives to prevent drug traffickers from penetrating national territory, whether by land or sea, and put in place the legal mechanisms to imprison traffickers. To achieve this end, Nicaragua has instituted new laws to strengthen its legal framework; its border commanders meet regularly with their counterparts in border nations and its Navy communicates with the U.S. Coast Guard to execute enhanced counter drug operations off its coasts. “In Operation Martillo, we have had success. It has allowed us to develop joint operations principally in the maritime realm, participating dynamically with [U.S.] Southern Command,” said Brigadier General Adolfo Zepeda, director of military intelligence and counterintelligence of the Nicaraguan Army. “It’s the first time we tried to synchronize air, land and sea to counter transnational criminal organization efforts across the entire isthmus,” JIATF-South director, Rear Admiral Charles Michel, told Diálogo at CENTSEC 2012. The new approach acknowledges that transnational criminal organizations cannot be defeated by one nation. Rather, just as drug traffickers attempt to take advantage of international boundaries, international partners must utilize effective and efficient relationships to stop them. “Operation Martillo is a clear example of searching for integration strategies of our countries,” General César Adonay Acosta, head of the Joint General Staff of the Salvadoran Armed Forces, told Diálogo at CENTSEC. With drug sales rivaling the GDPs of some countries in the region, state stability and citizen security are at risk if countries in the hemisphere go it alone. “Narco-activity and drug trafficking from the south to north in our countries generates incalculable levels of violence.” Anticipating Change By Dialogo July 01, 2012 read more