BLUE WATER AND WHITE POWDER: TRENDS IN MARITIME NARCOTICS TRAFFICKING IN THE GREATER CARIBBEAN
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Authors
Mills, Walker D.
Subjects
cocaine
narcotics
trafficking
Caribbean
maritime
narcotics
trafficking
Caribbean
maritime
Advisors
Miller, Patrick E.
Halladay, Carolyn C.
Date of Issue
2023-03
Date
Publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
This thesis argues that drug traffickers and law enforcement are caught in a cycle of competitive adaptation and that traffickers have consistently adapted to law enforcement pressure. It uses a history of cocaine trafficking from 1970 to 2000 and a case study on “narco-submarines” to provide both a macro and micro view of the competition between law enforcement and drug traffickers in the Caribbean. This thesis finds that since its inception, cocaine interdiction has been largely ineffective despite the major increases in law enforcement resources from the 1970s to the 1990s, including the use of the U.S. military to support counternarcotics operations. Interdiction has been ineffective because traffickers can rapidly adapt to law enforcement pressure by changing their smuggling methods and shifting their routes.
Type
Thesis
Description
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs (CHDS)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.