The USCGC Stone (WMSL 758) crew arrived in its homeport of North Charleston, South Carolina, March 1, 2021, following the conclusion of Operation Southern Cross, a patrol on the South Atlantic in support of countering illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Taking the newly-accepted cutter on its shakedown cruise, Stone’s [ … ]
Transnational Threats
Paraguay: Agents Seize 1.6 Tons of Marijuana Bound for Brazil
The Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD, in Spanish) intercepted a truck carrying 1,635 kilograms of marijuana bound for Brazil, on January 22. Agents from SENAD’s Regional Office in Ciudad del Este, in the Tri-border area, found the drug distributed among 47 packages, inside a false bottom in the truck. The [ … ]
Bolivia: Anti-drug Agents Destroy More than 2 Tons of Drugs
In less than a month, the Bolivian Special Force to Fight Drug Trafficking (FELCN, in Spanish) destroyed more than 2 tons of cocaine and marijuana in different operations. On February 17, agents incinerated 179 kilograms of cocaine seized in the town of El Alto during Operation Río Seco. The United [ … ]
Peru: Police Seizes Nearly 10 Tons of Chemical Precursors for Cocaine Production
On February 5, the Peruvian National Police (PNP, in Spanish) seized nearly 10,000 kilograms of chemical precursors used for cocaine production, in a clandestine lab in Cusco department. The lab operated in a house in the Pichari district, in the coca-producing valley of the Apurímac, Ene, and Mantaro rivers. [caption [ … ]
Brazilian Federal Highway Police Makes Record Marijuana Seizure
On February 8, 2021, the Brazilian Federal Highway Police (PRF, in Portuguese) seized nearly 30 tons of marijuana in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul (MS). According to the institution, the seizure was its largest in the country so far. The 29.2 ton cargo was on the trailer of [ … ]
Costa Rica Seizes 2.5 Tons of Cocaine
Costa Rican authorities carried out two drug seizures in early February, preventing 2.5 tons of cocaine from departing the country hidden in containers among export products. On February 18, the Costa Rican Drug Control Police (PCD, in Spanish) found 513 kilograms of cocaine hidden among packages of fried food in [ … ]
Paraguay: SENAD Destroys More than 24 Tons of Marijuana
In late January, agents of the Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD, in Spanish) deployed inside the country’s northeastern nature reserves to carry out antinarcotics operations. Among the objectives, SENAD sought to identify and destroy marijuana crops in the forests. On January 28, during an incursion in protected areas, agents found [ … ]
Colombian Military Forces Fight Against Deforestation
The ninth edition of Operation Artemis (Operación Artemisa), a strategy of the Colombian Military Forces to stop deforestation throughout the national territory, took place in the Amazon region February 15-19. The operation had 412 units of the Military Forces and the National Police participating, as well as authorities and government [ … ]
Ecuadorian Authorities Seize Tons of Cocaine in Three Operations
In early February, Ecuadorian security forces carried out three important cocaine seizures in their continuing battle against transnational criminal organizations. On February 6, the Ecuadorian Police reported on Twitter the seizure of more than 1 ton of cocaine on a road near Guayaquil Port. As part of Operation Reinforcement (operativo [ … ]
Paraguayan Police Arrests Brazilian Narcotrafficking Leader
The First Capital Command (PCC, in Portuguese), the largest organized crime and narcotrafficking group in Brazil, suffered another loss. On January 9, 2021, the country’s National Police arrested a drug dealer, considered to be the PCC’s main leader in Paraguay. Giovanni Barbosa da Silva, aka Bonitão or the PCC’s Joker, [ … ]
Brazil: Security Forces Seize More than 4 Tons of Marijuana
The Brazilian Federal Highway Police (PRF, in Portuguese) and Federal Police (PF, in Portuguese) seized more than 4 tons of marijuana during two operations. On January 22, 2021, the PRF seized 2,560 kilograms of marijuana in Marechal Cândido Rondon, in the western region of Paraná state. The drug was hidden [ … ]
Brazil: Security Forces Dismantle Group Operating as Criminal Franchise
On February 5, the Brazilian Federal Police (PF, in Portuguese) and the Mato Grosso Civil Police dismantled a criminal group that trafficked drugs and laundered money in various Brazilian states. During Operation Parasite, agents executed 34 arrest, search, and seizure warrants, seized property and vehicles, and froze $2.2 million in [ … ]