U.S. Official Warns of Drug Trafficking from Central America
Mexico and the countries in Central America provide a "natural conduit" for illicit drug trafficking organizations, which threaten U.S. national security and influence governments throughout the region, says Michael Braun, chief of operations for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

In his November 9 prepared testimony before the U.S. House International Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Braun said the Central American region will remain for the foreseeable future the primary transit zone for U.S.-bound drugs produced in Central and South America.

Braun said all seven Central American countries actively are used by major trafficking organizations to smuggle drugs and money between South America and Mexico. To counter these activities, Braun said the DEA focuses on improving the region's anti-drug capabilities via liaison, institutional mentoring with host nation governments, bilateral investigations and by attacking the command-and-control structures of these drug-trafficking organizations.

With few exceptions (notably Costa Rica and Panama), Braun said the Central American nations are ill-equipped to handle the threat of drug trafficking. Many Central American countries are experiencing weak economies, and scarce resources are often allocated for other pressing problems. Police and other agencies often are underfunded and receive inadequate training. Consequently, said Braun, some officials are susceptible to the enormous bribes that drug traffickers can offer.

"The corrupting power of illicit drug trafficking organizations on the governmental institutions of Central America significantly increases the difficulties of mounting successful drug interdiction efforts," Braun said.

Complicating this situation, he added, is the increased involvement by major Mexican and Colombian drug-trafficking organizations in Central America.

Braun said these "powerful organizations rely on the hallmarks of organized crime to carry out their operations -- namely, corruption, intimidation, and violence, thus creating a destabilizing effect on the region."

The DEA official said that both South American and Mexican drug trafficking organizations are "linking up with host-country transportation organizations and are highly compartmentalized, so that if one member or one cell is arrested, the entire operation is not compromised.” Braun said drug traffickers also use the latest technology such as cell phones, satellite phones, text messaging, global positioning systems and voice-over-Internet protocol.

Another problem, Braun said, is that Central America serves as both a transit zone and placement stage for drug cash profits. Braun cited an incident that occurred in October when Panamanian authorities seized us$5.7 million in U.S. currency from a warehouse in the Colon Free Trade Zone in Panama. Initial inquiries, he said, have indicated that this cash was shipped overland from Mexico to Panama, thereby traveling through several Central American countries.

Braun said Panama's government and the DEA are "aggressively investigating these trends at an unprecedented level of cooperation to identify the organizations and money laundering systems that operate behind this movement of drug cash."

The other Central American countries geographically positioned between Mexico and Panama, said Braun, exhibit "varying degrees of vulnerabilities to storage and transportation of bulk drug cash, as well as more sophisticated methods of money laundering."

Similar to cocaine, South American-produced heroin also is transported into and through Central America via land and air, Braun said. Unlike cocaine, heroin often is smuggled by people who swallow large numbers of small capsules, allowing them to transport up to 1.5 kilograms of heroin per courier. This heroin is destined primarily for the United States, but "we have also seen incidences of commercial air transportation smuggling continuing on to European countries," Braun said.

Braun said in response to the "significant" challenges presented by the drug trafficking organizations in Central America, the DEA strongly believes it must take an active approach to stop illegal drugs from coming into the United States from Central America and Mexico.