{"id":5819,"date":"2018-12-21T13:51:12","date_gmt":"2018-12-21T17:51:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncjolt.org\/?p=5819"},"modified":"2020-06-04T20:52:29","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T20:52:29","slug":"cocaine-captains-sinking-submerged-drug-smuggling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/blogs\/cocaine-captains-sinking-submerged-drug-smuggling\/","title":{"rendered":"Cocaine Captains: Sinking Submerged Drug Smuggling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Almost\nfifty years<\/a>\ninto America\u2019s anti-narcotics domestic and foreign policy initiatives, launched\nwith Nixon\u2019s signing of the Controlled\nSubstances Act<\/a> (colloquially referred to as the \u201cWar on Drugs\u201d), the\narms race between international drug cartels and the law enforcement agencies\ntasked with stopping them soldiers on. Still a centerpiece of policy decisions by\ntoday\u2019s politicians, both\nsides of the aisle<\/a> have been seeking creative ways to curb what has\nbecome a public health crisis in America. President Trump has long-advocated\nfor the construction of a physical wall to stretch the entire length\nMexican-American border, in large part he says to stem\nthe tide of illegal narcotics<\/a> from entering the country. Though not\nthe largest country of origin of smuggled narcotics, Mexico is the only country\nthat shares a southern border with the United States. Measuring about 1,933\nmiles<\/a> long, 4,600 U.S. Drug\nEnforcement Agency<\/a> (DEA) agents have jurisdiction to intercept and\ndetain those apprehended at the border suspected of transporting drugs\nillegally. But while such a barrier may hinder the terrestrial transit of drugs\ndestined for American markets, President Trump\u2019s high walls can\u2019t cover the\nhigh seas.<\/p>\n\n\n

Almost\nfifty years<\/a>\ninto America\u2019s anti-narcotics domestic and foreign policy initiatives, launched\nwith Nixon\u2019s signing of the Controlled\nSubstances Act<\/a> (colloquially referred to as the \u201cWar on Drugs\u201d), the\narms race between international drug cartels and the law enforcement agencies\ntasked with stopping them soldiers on. Still a centerpiece of policy decisions by\ntoday\u2019s politicians, both\nsides of the aisle<\/a> have been seeking creative ways to curb what has\nbecome a public health crisis in America. President Trump has long-advocated\nfor the construction of a physical wall to stretch the entire length\nMexican-American border, in large part he says to stem\nthe tide of illegal narcotics<\/a> from entering the country. Though not\nthe largest country of origin of smuggled narcotics, Mexico is the only country\nthat shares a southern border with the United States. Measuring about 1,933\nmiles<\/a> long, 4,600 U.S. Drug\nEnforcement Agency<\/a> (DEA) agents have jurisdiction to intercept and\ndetain those apprehended at the border suspected of transporting drugs\nillegally. But while such a barrier may hinder the terrestrial transit of drugs\ndestined for American markets, President Trump\u2019s high walls can\u2019t cover the\nhigh seas.<\/p>\n\n\n

In\nrecent years, drug cartels have been opting for large scale transport of\nnarcotics aboard vessels instead of taking the risk of sneaking across the\nAmerican boarder; and \u201clarge scale\u201d is an understatement. According to the\nJoint Interagency Task Force South of the U.S. Coast Guard, 95%\nof drugs<\/a> entering the\ncountry are moving on the water via container ships, non-commercial\nvessels, pleasure boats, sail boats, and fishing boats. The Coast Guard\u2019s drug\ninterdiction task forces cover 40\nmillion square nautical miles<\/a> of open ocean; they account for over 50% of cocaine\ninterdiction every year, the highest\nvolume drug<\/a> entering the U.S. market. Utilizing the latest technology of\nthe United States Military, the Coast Guard employs 40,000\nactive duty sailors<\/a>, six\ndifferent models<\/a> of vessels and aircraft each, and their own intelligence networks\nas well as those of the FBI,\nCIA, DEA, NSA, Department of Justice<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

Law\nenforcement agencies and politicians are not the only factions evolving their\nresponse to this new era of drug smuggling. Cartels have fought back, improving\ntheir operations by trading decades old tactics of smuggling in order to adopt\nnewer technologies and techniques to try and evade detection. Last year, the Coast\nGuard reported a resurgence<\/a> of a previously seen tactic:\n\u201cnarco-subs.\u201d Narco-sub is short for \u201cNarcotic Submarine,\u201d though the name can\nbe misleading. While often not a fully submersible vessel in the sense an Ohio-Class\nsubmarine<\/a> is (though fully\nsubmersible vessels have been intercepted<\/a> while smuggling drugs), narco-subs\nseek to use the same core feature to accomplish their mission: stealth.\nNarco-subs are low cut vessels that ride either right at or right below the\nsurface, making them harder to track on radar than boats with a higher profile.\nTough to spot from Coast Guard patrol boats or aerial surveillance, narco-subs\ncan carry extremely\nhigh quantities of drugs<\/a> with a much greater probability of evasion\nthan standard oceangoing vessels.<\/p>\n\n\n

Tasked\nwith detecting and intercepting these ever-evolving forms of smuggling, the\nCoast Guard\u2019s problem is the same as the cartel\u2019s ambition: money. For an\nagency that makes billions\nof dollars\u2019 worth<\/a> of drug interdictions annually at sea, funding is\nbeing threatened in a rather ironic way: the proposed boarder wall that is\nintended to halt smugglers. A turf war in Washington is arising over the best policies\nmoving forward on drug interdiction; whether it is more efficient to fund the\nwall, or USCG vessels intent on drug interdiction. Partisanship on the issue is\nstrong: this summer, Congressional Republicans proposed a funding cut to a\nscheduled USCG icebreaker in order to help\nfund the border wall<\/a>. Democrats and some high ranking Coast Guard\npersonnel, indicating that they believe the\nwall is a distraction<\/a> from more effective methods of halting the\nsupply of drugs, say the money is better spent elsewhere. But if the choice is\nto be made on statistics alone, the Coast Guard has a solid claim: a record 223.8\nmetric tons<\/a> of cocaine were interdicted in 2017, beating the record 201.3\nmetric tons<\/a> of just the year before. The Coast Guard says newer\nships that would be acquired<\/a> with additional funding from Congress\nwould employ the latest technology, better equipping the service to detect and\ninterdict drug smugglers who are adapt at trying to stay one step ahead of the\ngame.<\/p>\n\n\n

As\nthe \u201cWar on Drugs\u201d enters its next half century, it brings with it new policy\nrationales and new technology \u2013 utilized by both competing factions \u2013 to vie\nfor the upper hand. While Washington decides how to combat the distinctions of\nthe issue, the combatants sail on.\nx”,se),ue(“<\/p>\n\n\n

initiatives, launched with Nixon\u2019s signing of the Controlled Substances Act<\/a> (colloquially referred to as the \u201cWar on Drugs\u201d), the arms race between international drug cartels and the law enforcement agencies tasked with stopping them soldiers on. Still a centerpiece of policy decisions by today\u2019s politicians, both sides of the aisle<\/a> have been seeking creative ways to curb what has become a public health crisis in America. President Trump has long-advocated for the construction of a physical wall to stretch the entire length Mexican-American border, in large part he says to stem the tide of illegal narcotics<\/a> from entering the country. Though not the largest country of origin of smuggled narcotics, Mexico is the only country that shares a southern border with the United States. Measuring about 1,933 miles<\/a> long, 4,600 U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency<\/a> (DEA) agents have jurisdiction to intercept and detain those apprehended at the border suspected of transporting drugs illegally. But while such a barrier may hinder the terrestrial transit of drugs destined for American markets, President Trump\u2019s high walls can\u2019t cover the high seas.<\/p>\n\n\n

Tasked with detecting and intercepting these ever-evolving forms of smuggling, the Coast Guard\u2019s problem is the same as the cartel\u2019s ambition: money.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n

In\nrecent years, drug cartels have been opting for large scale transport of\nnarcotics aboard vessels instead of taking the risk of sneaking across the\nAmerican boarder; and \u201clarge scale\u201d is an understatement. According to the\nJoint Interagency Task Force South of the U.S. Coast Guard, 95%\nof drugs<\/a> entering the\ncountry are moving on the water via container ships, non-commercial\nvessels, pleasure boats, sail boats, and fishing boats. The Coast Guard\u2019s drug\ninterdiction task forces cover 40\nmillion square nautical miles<\/a> of open ocean; they account for over 50% of cocaine\ninterdiction every year, the highest\nvolume drug<\/a> entering the U.S. market. Utilizing the latest technology of\nthe United States Military, the Coast Guard employs 40,000\nactive duty sailors<\/a>, six\ndifferent models<\/a> of vessels and aircraft each, and their own intelligence networks\nas well as those of the FBI,\nCIA, DEA, NSA, Department of Justice<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

Law\nenforcement agencies and politicians are not the only factions evolving their\nresponse to this new era of drug smuggling. Cartels have fought back, improving\ntheir operations by trading decades old tactics of smuggling in order to adopt\nnewer technologies and techniques to try and evade detection. Last year, the Coast\nGuard reported a resurgence<\/a> of a previously seen tactic:\n\u201cnarco-subs.\u201d Narco-sub is short for \u201cNarcotic Submarine,\u201d though the name can\nbe misleading. While often not a fully submersible vessel in the sense an Ohio-Class\nsubmarine<\/a> is (though fully\nsubmersible vessels have been intercepted<\/a> while smuggling drugs), narco-subs\nseek to use the same core feature to accomplish their mission: stealth.\nNarco-subs are low cut vessels that ride either right at or right below the\nsurface, making them harder to track on radar than boats with a higher profile.\nTough to spot from Coast Guard patrol boats or aerial surveillance, narco-subs\ncan carry extremely\nhigh quantities of drugs<\/a> with a much greater probability of evasion\nthan standard oceangoing vessels.<\/p>\n\n\n

Tasked\nwith detecting and intercepting these ever-evolving forms of smuggling, the\nCoast Guard\u2019s problem is the same as the cartel\u2019s ambition: money. For an\nagency that makes billions\nof dollars\u2019 worth<\/a> of drug interdictions annually at sea, funding is\nbeing threatened in a rather ironic way: the proposed boarder wall that is\nintended to halt smugglers. A turf war in Washington is arising over the best policies\nmoving forward on drug interdiction; whether it is more efficient to fund the\nwall, or USCG vessels intent on drug interdiction. Partisanship on the issue is\nstrong: this summer, Congressional Republicans proposed a funding cut to a\nscheduled USCG icebreaker in order to help\nfund the border wall<\/a>. Democrats and some high ranking Coast Guard\npersonnel, indicating that they believe the\nwall is a distraction<\/a> from more effective methods of halting the\nsupply of drugs, say the money is better spent elsewhere. But if the choice is\nto be made on statistics alone, the Coast Guard has a solid claim: a record 223.8\nmetric tons<\/a> of cocaine were interdicted in 2017, beating the record 201.3\nmetric tons<\/a> of just the year before. The Coast Guard says newer\nships that would be acquired<\/a> with additional funding from Congress\nwould employ the latest technology, better equipping the service to detect and\ninterdict drug smugglers who are adapt at trying to stay one step ahead of the\ngame.<\/p>\n\n\n

As\nthe \u201cWar on Drugs\u201d enters its next half century, it brings with it new policy\nrationales and new technology \u2013 utilized by both competing factions \u2013 to vie\nfor the upper hand. While Washington decides how to combat the distinctions of\nthe issue, the combatants sail on.\nx”,se),ue(“<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Almost fifty years into America\u2019s anti-narcotics domestic and foreign policy initiatives, launched with Nixon\u2019s signing of the Controlled Substances Act (colloquially referred to as the \u201cWar on Drugs\u201d), the arms race between international drug cartels and the law enforcement agencies tasked with stopping them soldiers on. Still a centerpiece of policy decisions by today\u2019s politicians, …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5821,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5819"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5819"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5819\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6893,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5819\/revisions\/6893"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5819"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5819"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5819"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}