WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley today released a Government Accountability Office report that shows drug smuggling on containerized cargo ships is a significant threat to U.S. counternarcotics efforts. The report is the third in a series to analyze the effectiveness of U.S. counternarcotics efforts in the drug transit zone, an area encompassing Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern Pacific Ocean through which drug trafficking organizations transport drugs to the United States. This report focused on the Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Panama, Venezuela and Ecuador. The first two reports focused on the availability of air and marine assets in the transit zone and counternarcotics efforts in Mexico.
“We’ve seen improved cooperation from most of the countries in the drug transit zone, but it’s important that we take this information and help those countries strengthen their counternarcotics efforts with the United States,” Grassley said. “The first order of business must be getting a better reporting system so we can determine what is and isn’t working.”
Grassley said he was also very concerned with the lack of focus that has been placed on containerized cargo ships that may be smuggling illegal drugs into the country. The report indicates that the Department of Homeland Security has implemented the Container Security Initiative which scans containers for weapons of mass destruction and terrorist contraband at 41 ports around the world, including seven ports in the drug transit zone. However, the Department of Homeland Security appears to be reluctant to use the program to detect illegal drugs.
“We’ve seen how the drug trade funds terrorism around the world. The Container Security Initiative would seem to be an important tool that could be used in the fight against terrorism and the fight against drugs. I’m interested in looking deeper into this issue to see how feasible it might be for the Initiative to include targeting illegal drugs,” Grassley said.
The report said, “…DHS (Department of Homeland Security) disagreed with our recommendation to study the expansion of CSI (Container Security Initiative), noting that the program is mandated to address the potential risk of terrorism and acts of terrorism. CSI’s (Container Security Initiative) mandate does not prohibit narcotics interdiction, and we note that the program’s 2006-2011 Strategic Plan envisions potential expansion to address narcotics trafficking, as a factor ‘known to support terrorism.’”
Copy of the Government Accountability Office report
