A war on drugs

“Cocaine is a major source of funding for the gangs in Jamaica.”

That was the blunt assessment from a US administration official during a September 19 high-level briefing last Friday in Kansas City, Missouri. The official, speaking as part of a US Foreign Press Reporting Tour on countering transnational criminal organisations, made clear why Jamaica has been flagged for increased scrutiny under America’s expanding war on drugs.

The statement comes amid a series of aggressive moves by the US, including three recent airstrikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats in Caribbean waters – operations that have left at least 17 alleged traffickers dead in September alone.

According to the US, these actions underscore a broader strategy to intercept narcotics shipments before they reach US soil, particularly fentanyl and cocaine, two of the deadliest drugs currently devastating American communities.

The US has formally named Jamaica as one of several countries either producing drugs or acting as a major transshipment hub. A recent letter to Congress confirms that such nations will be under active surveillance through 2026.

While the US official clarified that no Caribbean country has failed to take steps to deter illicit activity, the pressure is on to do more – and quickly. The US says it wants to strengthen small island states’ ability to secure their borders and stop drugs from moving north.

That commitment to co-operation was reaffirmed last week when US Secretary of State Mark Rubio sent a re-election congratulatory message to Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness.

Rubio praised Jamaica’s leadership in regional stability and its “strong partnership” with the US in combatting transnational organised crime. Both parties expressed interest in advancing shared goals of security and stability in the Western Hemisphere.

SCIENTIFIC SUPPORT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT

In the US war on drugs, the science plays a critical role.

Allen Catterton, lab director at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Southeast Laboratory, explained that while their facility conducts scientific research, its main function is to support criminal investigations into trafficking and smuggling.

The DEA, which processes 50,000 to 60,000 drug samples each year, maintains close collaboration with Caribbean labs and operates a regional base in Puerto Rico.

Catterton said the US has its eyes keenly focused on the derivatives of fentanyl.

“We also have liaisons that work with each of the islands. [When] they come up with scientific questions, they come to us for answers,” Catterton said.

“This Miami lab does about 8,000 to 9,000 cases a year and then we break it down, too … . Fentanyl takes up about 20 per cent of the workload. It might not be much, but the impact it is making in this country and the world is massive,” Catterton noted.

During a media tour of the lab, officials displayed a variety of fentanyl samples – from standard white tablets to rainbow-coloured pills.

“About five of [every] 10 of those pills that contain fentanyl are a deadly dose,” Catterton said.

SMUGGLING ROUTES, NEW JAMAICA AGREEMENT

While fentanyl typically enters the US through Mexican cartels, much of the cocaine is transported by sea from South America, often using Caribbean routes.

The US Coast Guard plays a major role in intercepting these shipments, patrolling 1.8 million square miles of ocean territory, including the Caribbean, using cutters, aircraft, and intelligence.

Just last week, the US Coast Guard offloaded 8,700 pounds of cocaine – worth US$64 million – at its St Petersburg, Florida base. Some of that cocaine – a result of two interdictions in the Caribbean Sea – was reportedly seized off Jamaica’s coast.

In one case on August 7, a go-fast vessel 136 miles southwest of Negril was intercepted, resulting in the seizure of 1,500 pounds of marijuana.

“Anything that happens on the water that is illegal, we care about that,” a US Coast Guard official told journalists.

The Sunday Gleaner has learned that Jamaica is now finalising the Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement 2025, which will allow the Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) and US Customs and Border Protection to share real-time intelligence on narcotics smuggling.

In a National Security Council seminar in February, Prime Minister Holness said the agreement would strengthen Jamaica’s national security, improve regional cooperation, and better protect citizens.

“Intelligence sharing of this sort is no longer optional if we wish to thwart transnational organised crime and secure the region. The evidence is clear. Criminal organisations are outpacing our governments in their ability to share information, adapt to enforcement measures and exploit gaps in our security frameworks,” Holness said.

He emphasised the role of CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) and the Regional Intelligence Fusion Centre in ensuring coordinated regional responses.

FIGHTING THE WAR STATESIDE

In the US heartland, Daniel Neill, director of the Midwest High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), is focused on the domestic side of the drug war. The US has some 33 HIDTAs.

Neill, a former DEA executive who has worked in the Caribbean, oversees drug enforcement across six states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri.

“I have the largest landmass area for the US and I have about the third largest budget. The total budget for HIDTA is about US$295 million. I get about US$16 million of that … . My job is to combat drug violence and try to lower the number of drug overdoses within this region,” Neill told The Sunday Gleaner.

His agency coordinates with about 70 agencies to go and buy drugs, facilitate overtime, equipment and all the necessary things they need to do their jobs.

“Every dollar that Congress gives me, I’m returning here in the Midwest and giving back like $16. I’m seizing drugs, I’m seizing money, etc. I’ve being able to prove that this programme is effective,” Neill said, stressing that the HIDTA is one of the most effective programmes with positive returns.

In the Midwest, fentanyl is the number one threat, followed by methamphetamine. Neill warned that the opioid epidemic is being worsened by counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, often made in illegal backroom labs.

“The problem is these drugs are not being made in a pharmaceutical company, where there are standards and quality control. They are being made in lab in the backwoods somewhere. Quality control is just not there,” Neill said.

Neill stressed that drug prevention must involve cooperation between security and public health agencies.

Back in Jamaica, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) reported last week that Crime Stop tips over the last 30 years have led to the seizure of over J$908 million worth of narcotics.

Regional agencies continue to work together to identify and disrupt drug routes, including the Bahamas-Florida corridor, a known smuggling channel.

In 2024 alone, the US Coast Guard reportedly seized US$1.4 billion in narcotics in the Caribbean and Gulf regions.

HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS

But the US approach is not without controversy.

Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), through its Director of Security and Human Rights Daphne Eviatar, warned that the use of airstrikes on suspected traffickers could violate international human rights law.

Eviatar said that under international human rights law, intentional lethal force can only be used when strictly necessary to protect life from an imminent threat, and when no less harmful means (e.g. capture) are available.

Amnesty’s statement emphasised that the US government must comply with principles of necessity and proportionality, especially in operations that could cost lives. They argued that bombing boats without legal justification or due process risks serious violations of the right to life.

She cautioned that designating individuals as “narco-terrorists” doesn’t automatically justify military action, especially when due process is ignored.

AIUSA’s statement came after reports of three US airstrikes in September. On September 3, a boat departing Venezuela was bombed, reportedly killing 11 people. Another strike on September 15 killed three more. A third strike brought the month’s death toll to 17.

Some US lawmakers, including Senators Tim Kaine and Adam Schiff, have since introduced a War Powers resolution to restrict presidential authority on such operations without congressional oversight.

US officials defend the actions, claiming evidence of “big bags of cocaine and fentanyl ... spattered all over the ocean” after the strikes. However, Venezuelan officials have denied involvement and raised concerns over the legality of the attacks.

Venezuelan authorities have reportedly made counterclaims and denials.

andre.williams@gleanerjm.com