Counternarcotics Assistance

Counternarcotics Assistance
Author: Charles Michael Johnson, Jr.
Publisher: U.S. Government Accountability Office
Total Pages: 52
Release: 2012-08-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

No single U.S. counternarcotics strategy exists for the Andean region. In each country—Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela—the U.S. embassy’s mission strategic resource plan, developed in consultation with the country’s government, guides counternarcotics assistance provided by U.S. agencies. Department of State (State) officials told GAO that these plans incorporate high- level guidance from the Office of National Drug Control Policy’s (ONDCP) annual National Drug Control Strategy. In fiscal years 2006 through 2011, estimated allotments for counternarcotics assistance to the Andean countries by U.S. agencies—State, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Defense (DOD), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)—totaled about $5.2 billion. Total allotments declined for each country during this time period. State, USAID, and DEA reported meeting or exceeding most annual targets for key measures of their counternarcotics activities in the Andean countries since 2007. For instance, State reported assisting in the eradication of illicit crops, USAID reported promoting alternative development, and DEA reported disrupting drug trafficking organizations. In addition, State, USAID, and DEA complied with an ONDCP requirement that each agency’s Inspector General (IG) attest to the reliability of annual performance summary reports before submitting the reports to ONDCP. DOD reported tracking several performance measures, but DOD’s IG was unable to attest to the reliability of DOD’s reporting to ONDCP. As a result, ONDCP lacks assurance of the accuracy of information it receives from DOD and in turn reports to Congress. Why GAO Did This Study Hundreds of metric tons of cocaine flow annually from South America to the United States, threatening the security and well-being of U.S. citizens. South American cocaine production and trafficking is centered in the five countries in the Andean region. State, USAID, DOD, and DEA provide counternarcotics assistance to stem production and trafficking of narcotics in these countries. ONDCP oversees and coordinates this assistance. In this report, GAO (1) describes the U.S. strategic approaches to counter- narcotics assistance in the Andean countries; (2) identifies amounts allotted for such assistance by State, USAID, DOD, and DEA in fiscal years 2006 through 2011; and (3) reviews the agencies’ reporting on their performance. GAO reviewed agency and U.S. strategy documents, analyzed available agency data, and interviewed agency officials. What GAO Recommends The Secretary of Defense should ensure that DOD submits performance summary reports to ONDCP including the Inspector General’s attestation that the reported information is reliable to facilitate good management and oversight. DOD concurred with this recommendation.

Counternarcotics

Counternarcotics
Author: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2018-08-20
Genre:
ISBN: 9781722208615

Counternarcotics : lessons from the U.S. experience in Afghanistan.

The Latin American Drug Trade

The Latin American Drug Trade
Author: Peter Chalk
Publisher: RAND Corporation
Total Pages: 112
Release: 2011-05-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780833051790

Transnational crime remains a particularly serious problem in Latin America, with most issues connected to the drug trade. There are several relevant roles that the U.S. Air Force can and should play in boosting Mexico's capacity to counter drug production and trafficking, as well as further honing and adjusting its wider counternarcotics effort in Latin America.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America and the Caribbean
Author: Clare Ribando Seelke
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2010-10
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 1437934056

Contents: (1) An Overview of Illicit Drugs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LA&C): Drug Traffickers and Related Criminal-Terrorist Actors; (2) U.S. Antidrug Assistance Programs in LA&C: Plan Colombia: Mérida Initiative for Mexico and Central America: U.S. Assistance to Mexico Beyond Mérida; Central American Regional Security Initiative; Caribbean Basin Security Initiative; DoD Counternarcotics Assistance Programs; (3) Foreign Assistance Prohibitions and Conditions: Annual Drug Certification Process; Conditions on Counternarcotics Assistance: Human Rights Prohibitions on Assistance to Security Forces; Country-Specific Prohibitions on Certain Counterdrug Assistance; Drug Eradication-Related Conditions; (4) Issues for Congress. Illus.

Shooting Up

Shooting Up
Author: Vanda Felbab-Brown
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2009-12-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 081570450X

Most policymakers see counterinsurgency and counternarcotics policy as two sides of the same coin. Stop the flow of drug money, the logic goes, and the insurgency will wither away. But the conventional wisdom is dangerously wrongheaded, as Vanda Felbab-Brown argues in Shooting Up. Counternarcotics campaigns, particularly those focused on eradication, typically fail to bankrupt belligerent groups that rely on the drug trade for financing. Worse, they actually strengthen insurgents by increasing their legitimacy and popular support. Felbab-Brown, a leading expert on drug interdiction efforts and counterinsurgency, draws on interviews and fieldwork in some of the world's most dangerous regions to explain how belligerent groups have become involved in drug trafficking and related activities, including kidnapping, extortion, and smuggling. Shooting Up shows vividly how powerful guerrilla and terrorist organizations — including Peru's Shining Path, the FARC and the paramilitaries in Colombia, and the Taliban in Afghanistan — have learned to exploit illicit markets. In addition, the author explores the interaction between insurgent groups and illicit economies in frequently overlooked settings, such as Northern Ireland, Turkey, and Burma. While aggressive efforts to suppress the drug trade typically backfire, Shooting Up shows that a laissez-faire policy toward illicit crop cultivation can reduce support for the belligerents and, critically, increase cooperation with government intelligence gathering. When combined with interdiction targeting major traffickers, this strategy gives policymakers a better chance of winning both the war against the insurgents and the war on drugs.

The Drug War

The Drug War
Author: United States. General Accounting Office
Publisher:
Total Pages: 44
Release: 1991
Genre: Drug control
ISBN: