Sustained disruption of drug traffickers in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific has already saved 600 American lives, head of U.S. Southern Command Adm. Craig Faller told the Washington Examiner in an exclusive interview in which he described the progress made since President Trump announced an enhanced counternarcotics effort on April 1.
“It’s time to get after putting relentless pressure on the enemy,” Faller said in a Zoom interview with the Washington Examiner from his office at U.S. Southern Command headquarters in Miami.
“I look at it as this vicious circle of threats,” he said, describing how transnational criminal organizations and narcoterrorists feed a cycle of corruption that threatens democracies and harms security across the region.
The estimate for American lives saved takes into account the drugs taken off U.S. streets and an annual estimate of 70,000 Americans who die each year from illegal drug-related overdoses.
“It’s a recognition that that threat has persisted and has grown over time and that we need to apply a higher level of resources to that threat,” said Faller, whose combat experience includes deployments on operations New Dawn in Iraq and Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
The White House announcement about a surge of resources to the areas used most by drug traffickers led to additional Navy destroyers, littoral combat ships, Coast Guard cutters, helicopters, Air Force E-3 AWACS, and E-8 JSTARS aircraft operating out of Curacao and an Army security force assistance brigade in Colombia.
As of June 26, the United States has worked with 22 nations in the Caribbean and Central and South America to seize 60 metric tons of cocaine,13,500 pounds of marijuana, and helped to detain 187 suspected drug smugglers.
Southcom estimated that $1.5 billion in profits were denied to criminal organizations.
Faller said the amount of drug trafficking in the region was not related to the coronavirus, as President Trump and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley indicated at the White House announcement, but more a result of the lack of resources devoted to the region.
“It had everything to do with assessment of the growing complexity of this threat,” he said.
Faller also highlighted that more of the job is being handed off to partner nations. Last year, 50% of interdictions involved partner nations, but this year, that number is up to 70%.
“Our long-term goal is to get partners involved in a higher percentage,” he said.
Venezuelan narcotrafficking
One of the biggest perceived recipients of drug trafficking money is the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
“Venezuela has become a paradise, a virtual paradise for narcotrafficking, narcoterrorism, and any kind of illicit activity,” Faller said.
A look at the flow patterns of drug traffickers provided by Southcom demonstrates the vital importance of Venezuela as a transit country. As a result, top military commanders and administration officials have been indicted by the Justice Department and sanctioned by the Treasury Department.
Then, Southcom did its part.
Faller described an example of trusted relationships with Central American partners since the April 1 surge started.
“We shared intelligence with Guatemala,” he said. “Guatemala was able to move in with trusted units and be virtually ready in time and space as an illicit air track came out of Venezuela and landed, and they busted it at the source.”
In making the case for sustained engagement in the region as part of Southcom’s blank slate review process with the Pentagon, Faller emphasized that continued relationships breed trust and reduce corruption.
“It goes back to that vicious circle,” he said. “If you can’t trust the partners, you can’t get them involved. So, you’ve got to know that they’re corruption-free. They’re going to be all-in. They’re not going to sell you out. They’re going to be with you and have similarly aligned goals.”
