The William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric
Defense Studies (The Perry Center)
Special Security Concerns of the
Small Island States of the Caribbean
Professor Pat Paterson
April 7, 2016
Agenda
• Threats and Challenges in the
Caribbean
• Transnational Organized Crime
(TOC)
• Drugs as a Source of Illicit
Revenue
• The Evolution of TOC in the
Caribbean
• Results of increased crime in the
Caribbean
• Cooperative Solutions among
Caribbean Nations
• US Policy toward the Caribbean
Threats and Challenges to the Caribbean
TIER 1 THREATS (immediate threat)
• Transnational Organized Crime
• Illicit Drugs
• Illegal Guns
• Gangs and Organized Crime
• Cyber-Crime
• Financial Crimes
• Corruption
TIER 2 THREATS (substantial threat)
• Human Trafficking and Smuggling
• Natural Disaster
• Public Order Crimes
TIER 3 RISKS (significant risk)
• Attacks on Critical Infrastructure
• Terrorism
TIER 4 RISKS (future risk)
• Climate Change
• Pandemics
Source: CARICOM Crime and Security Strategy (CCSS), http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/210844.pdf
Source: LA Times
Source: “The Globalization Of Crime,” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2010.
Illicit Trafficking and Profits of Transnational Organized Crime
Problem
Trafficking in Persons for sexual
exploitation
Smuggling of Migrants
Cocaine (from Andean Ridge)
Heroin
Firearms
Trafficking of Natural Resources
(wildlife and timber)
Counterfeit goods
Piracy
Cybercrime
Victims
Value (US dollars)
$3 billion
70,000
3 million (Latin America to North America)
55,000 (Africa to Europe)
$7.6 billion
309 tons to US
212 tons to Europe
95 tons (Afghanistan to Russia)
140 tons (Afghanistan to Europe)
22,000 (US to Mexico)
40,000 (East Europe to world)
75 tons of elephant ivory
800 kg of rhino horns
150 tiger skins
10 million cubic meters of timber
Billions of items
217 attacks in 2009
ID Theft - 1.5 million victims
Child Pornography – 50,000 new images
$38 billion
Money laundering from illicit trafficking is estimated at
$1.3 to $3.3 trillion/year (between 2-5% of global GDP).
$33 billion
$55 million
$75 million in animal parts
$3.5 billion in timber
$9.8 billion
$100 million
$1.3 billion
Source: “The Globalization Of Crime,” United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2010.
Cocaine Movement into the U.S. Transit Zone – 2014
Direct to US
<1%
Dominican
Republic
Mexico
Western Caribbean Vector
Guatemala
El Salvador
Nicaragua
Suriname
Costa Rica
Venezuela
Panama
Year
Mexico/
CENTAM
Caribbean
Direct to
U.S.
2014
85%
15%
< 1%
2013
88%
12%
< 1%
2012
91%
9%
< 1%
2011
95%
5%
< 1%
Historical Perspective
2001
74%
25%
1%
Guyana
Mexico/Central
America Corridor
85%
15%
Haiti
Belize
Honduras
Eastern Pacific Vector
Caribbean Corridor
French Guiana
Colombia
Ecuador
Peru
Brazil
Bolivia
Cocaine trafficking through the Caribbean
increased
by 220%UNCLASSIFIED
from 2010 (34 tons) to 2015 (109 tons).
The Evolving Nature of Transnational Organized Crime
1990s and earlier
Centralized hierarchical structures
Current Patterns
Loose, amorphous, highly adaptable
networks
Limited use of information
Increasing role of cyber capabilities
technology
in illicit activities
Illicit activities dominant
Legitimate businesses mixed w/ illicit
activities
Clear separation between drug
Non-drug producing groups now
traffickers and other organized crime trafficking
activities
Cash-based local enterprises
Global investments and use of
financial infrastructures
Domestic and regional scope
Transnational and global scope
Influenced some states’ behavior
Co-opting, undermining, some states
or instruments of state power
Isolated links to terrorism
Offering services to foreign terrorist
organizations
Targeting and enforcement easier
Adaptability outpacing targeting and
than today
enforcement
Corruption saps 9% of the regional Gross
Domestic Product each year. World Bank.
The greatest threats to the Region’s
security and sustainable development are
transnational organized criminal activities
involving illicit drugs and illegal guns;
gangs and organized crime; cyber-crime;
financial crimes and corruption. CARICOM
Crime and Security Strategy, 2013.
Source: The U.S. Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime, July 2011.
The six principle threats (according to the UN):
1. Street crime
2. Violence and street crime (against and by
young people)
3. Gender violence
4. Corruption
5. Illegal violence by agents of the State
6. Organized crime
Criminal conditions exacerbated by:
1. Poverty, unemployment, and inequality
2. Under-governed spaces
3. Lack of social or economic mobility
4. Weak state institutions
5. Insufficient government cooperation
Source: UNDP Regional Human Development Report 2013 -2014, p. 7.
The Network of Organized Crime
State
Authorities
Bribery
Corruption
Partiality
Organized
Crime
Fraud
Money laundering
Protection rackets
Front Companies
Smuggling
Legitimate
Businesses
Bribery
Cronyism
Economic espionage
Monopoly
Protection
Surging levels of violence in Latin American and Caribbean
1 in every 3 Latin American citizens is
a victim of violent crime.
El Salvador and Honduras are the
most violent countries in the world
(per 100,000 citizens).
Kingston, Jamaica is the most violent
city in the Caribbean.
Average prison overcrowding rate in
Caribbean nations: 180%.
Source: The Economist, “Revisiting the world’s most violent cities,” 30 March 2016.
Communication, Cooperation, Collaboration and Coordination
CARICOM Implementation Agency For Crime And
Security (IMPACS)
Joint Regional Communications Centre (JRCC)
Advance Passenger Information System (APIS)
Advanced Cargo Information System (ACIS)
Regional Intelligence Fusion Centre (RIFC)
Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATS)
RSS Training Institute (RTI)
Caribbean Regional Drug Law Enforcement
Training Center (REDTRAC)
Regional Police Training School (RPTS)
Caribbean Maritime Training Center (CMMTC)
Caribbean Military Aviation School (CMAS)
JDF Technical Training Institute (JTTI)
National Police College of Jamaica (NPCJ)
11
U.S. Policy for the Caribbean and Latin America
• Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy,
January 2015.
• An “economy of force” AOR.
• Pursue innovative, low-cost, and small-footprint
approaches to achieve security objectives in Africa
and Latin America.
• Rely on non-military means and military-to-military
cooperation to address instability to reduce the
demand for significant troop commitments to
nation-building or stability operations.
• Budget constraints will further inhibit future
interdiction efforts.
“I just sit and watch it go by.” GEN John Kelly, USMC,
former Commander of US Southern Command, referring to
lack of budget and assets for drug interdiction.
Important References on Caribbean Security
Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy, January 2015
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/policy-andresearch/caribbeanstrategy5.pdf
United Nations Human Development Report for Latin America, 2013-2014
http://www.latinamerica.undp.org/content/dam/rblac/docs/Research%20and%20Publications/IDH/Regional_Human_D
evelopment_Report_2013-14.pdf?download
CARICOM Crime and Security Strategy, February 2013.
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/210844.pdf
UNODC Regional Programme 2014-2016 in Support of the CARICOM Crime and Security Strategy, 2013
http://www.unodc.org/documents/ropan/UNODC_Regional_Programme_Caribbean/UNODC_Regional_Programme_f
or_the_Caribbean_2014-2016_in_support_of_the_CARICOM_Crime_and_Security_Strategy_2013.pdf
Transnational Organized Crime in Central America and the Caribbean, September 2012
https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/Studies/TOC_Central_America_and_the_Caribbean_english.pdf
The U.S. Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime, July 2011
https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/Strategy_to_Combat_Transnational_Organized_Crime_July_2011.pdf
The Globalization of Crime: A Transnational Organized Crime Threat Assessment, 2010
https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/tocta/TOCTA_Report_2010_low_res.pdf
Questions?