Corruption, lack of funding hinder drug fight

A new United States (US) report says that “since 2003, through US-supported international counternarcotics programmes, the United States and the eight major drug transit countries we reviewed, except Venezuela, have enhanced their cooperation in combating

WASHINGTON DC, United States, August 18, 2008 – A new United States (US) report says that although cooperation with Latin America and Caribbean countries in the anti-drug fight has improved, the issues of corruption, resource limitations and lack of political will has impeded further progress.

The document, recently released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), listed the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries of Jamaica, Haiti and the Bahamas as among eight identified major drug transit countries. The others are the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, and Venezuela. The US Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has reported that about 90 per cent of cocaine reaches the US through Central America and Mexico, while approximately 10 per cent is trafficked through the Caribbean.

“Since 2003, through US-supported international counternarcotics programmes, the United States and the eight major drug transit countries we reviewed, except Venezuela, have enhanced their cooperation in combating drug trafficking, primarily through improvements in investigations and intelligence gathering, maritime and land-based operations, and prosecutions of drug traffickers,” the GAO said.

It added that according to information provided by the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (State/INL) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the improvements attained through these programmes have contributed to the US strategy of disrupting the illicit drug market through drug seizures, arrests, prosecutions, and drug crop eradication.

It noted that the inability of transit zone countries to patrol their shores effectively and conduct other maritime operations presents a major gap in drug interdiction. It said that in many of the countries reviewed, partner nations cannot operate US-provided maritime assets for counternarcotics missions due to a lack of operations and maintenance resources and gave examples of situations in Haiti and Jamaica.

“In Haiti, State/INL and the US Coast Guard provided substantial support to the Haitian coast guard, including interceptor boats, vessel overhauls and retrofitting, infrastructure improvements, and training and equipment. However, a lack of necessary equipment, maintenance, fuel, and logistical support has continued to impair the Haitian coast guard’s ability to conduct maritime operations and combat drug trafficking effectively,” the report said.

“In Jamaica, the United States donated several patrol vessels capable of intercepting go-fast boats. State reported in 2006 that the vessels had only limited operational capability because they were not in good working order,” it added.

The GAO added that although additional boats were given for use in maritime security operations to partner nations, including Jamaica and the Bahamas, plans were not developed to address long-term sustainability of these assets over their expected 10-year operating life. It said that while these interceptor boats were accompanied by support equipment such as trucks and trailers for on-land mobility; radios; infrared cameras; as well as training and a limited maintenance programme, at a cost of between US$6 million and US$11 million for each country, adequate provisions were not made to ensure that the partner countries could fuel the donated boats and maintain them beyond an initial short-term maintenance contract period.

On the issue of political will, the report noted that a few governments in the region, including Jamaica, have demonstrated limited political support for US counternarcotics efforts.

“The United States helped develop a corporate reform strategy for the Jamaican Constabulary Force, but it was never implemented due to a combination of internal resistance to change and a lack of power to ensure implementation of the strategy’s recommendations. In addition, the government of Jamaica has not enacted an initiative to permit extended data-sharing between US and Jamaican law enforcement agencies concerning money-laundering cases,” the GAO said.

It added that in other cases, US officials noted instances of official corruption - particularly among military and police units - that have limited the opportunities for and scope of cooperation with the United States and, in some cases, undermined specific interdiction operations.

Citing Haiti as an example, the report said that there was evidence of law enforcement officials leaking information on planned operations and trafficking drugs. It added that in the Bahamas, State was reluctant to include Bahamian defense personnel in 'Operation Bahamas, Turks and Caicos' and to share sensitive law enforcement information with them due to corruption concerns.

Noting that better performance reporting and sustainability plans are needed, the GAO recommended that the US Secretary of State, in consultation with the Director of ONDCP, the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and the Administrator of USAID, report the results of US-funded counternarcotics initiatives more comprehensively and consistently for each country in the annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report.

It also recommended that a plan be developed to ensure that “partner nations in the transit zone can effectively operate and maintain all counternarcotics assets that the United States has provided, including boats and other vehicles and equipment, for their remaining useful life and report this plan to the Congress for the fiscal year 2010 appropriations cycle”; and ensure that, before providing a counternarcotics asset to a partner nation, "agencies determine the total operations and maintenance cost over its useful life and, with the recipient nation, develop a plan for funding this cost".