More than 80 percent of the cocaine which is smuggled into the United States is transported through Central America, according to a 2013 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report.
Transnational Threats
Colombian National Police commanders lead the fight against organized crime
New commanders are responsible for squelching regional conflicts, many of which involve violence by street gangs and transnational organized crime groups.
Dominican Republic seized record amount of cocaine in 2013
In confiscating nearly 10 metric tons of cocaine, the country topped the record it set for seizures in 2012, when it nabbed around nine tons.

Costa Rica seizes record tons of drugs
The police seized 19.2 tons of cocaine, 2.8 tons of marijuana, 70,000 crack rocks and 11,209 doses of ecstasy in 2013.

In 2013, Ecuadorian police dismantled gangs engaged in extortion and usury
In one of the last operations of the year at the national level called “Gray Night”, carried out on December 19, the police arrested 46 members of a band of loan sharks.
The Sinaloa Cartel and other drug trafficking organizations take advantage of Central American airspace
Many aircraft that used to make the direct flight from Colombia or Venezuela to southeast Mexico can no longer do so. Aircraft loaded with hundreds of kilos of cocaine are landing in Guatemala, Honduras and Costa Rica.
Panama’s government bolsters efforts against the drug trade
The Central America country will expand its air and naval bases and has acquired new equipment, including a radar system to prevent drug smuggling.
U.S. Coast Guard: 1,200 kilograms of cocaine seized
FARC and street gangs displace millions of Colombians
Most of the displacement occurred in the departments of Narino, Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Cordoba, and Antioquia.

Ecuadorian security forces capture narco-submarine
Security forces located the small submarine on the coast near the town of Limones, in the province of Esmeraldas. The area is near the Colombian border.
MS-13 and Barrio 18 are using women and girls as enforcers
Gangs are still predominantly male, but the number of women and teenage female gang members is rising.

Campaign launched to fight violence against women in Honduras
Between January and June 2013, there were 323 women killed in Honduras, according to the Violence Observatory.