Rear Admiral Jo-Ann F. Burdian, a distinguished Coast Guard Permanent Cutterman, assumed leadership of Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-South) in June 2024. Her extensive career, including commanding cutters and shaping strategic response policy, uniquely positions her to lead JIATF-South’s complex detection and monitoring operations against illicit trafficking.
In this exclusive interview with Diálogo, Rear Adm. Burdian highlights JIATF-South as a “team of teams” built on collaboration with 22 foreign liaison officers from 20 nations. She discusses their innovative use of AI to enhance operations and foster multilateral partnerships, sharing impressive narcotics interdiction statistics, and reaffirming JIATF-South’s critical role in regional security.
Diálogo: You assumed the duties of JIATF-South director in June 2024. What have been your main objectives?
U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Jo-Ann F. Burdian, director of Joint Interagency Task Force South: Thank you for the opportunity to brag a little bit about our wonderful “team of teams.” Over the last year, we have been focused on measuring our successes, identifying performance gaps, and finding ways to continuously improve. We truly are a “team of teams,” comprising individuals from various U.S. interagency intelligence and law enforcement services, five of the six armed services — with Space Force welcomed to join in — and individuals from 20 partner nations across Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. All of us converge here with a single purpose: to detect and monitor narcotics movements originating from South America and destined for locations worldwide.
Diálogo: The JIATF-South team is a true fusion of national and international collaboration with foreign liaison officers stationed at Naval Air Station Key West to support their countries’ participation in counternarcotics efforts. How does JIATF-South operate and what has led it to be known as the “global standard” for interagency operations?
Rear Adm. Burdian: We diligently work hard to create an environment where we can leverage the unique authorities and capabilities of every individual and agency involved, whether they’re a U.S. agency, or a foreign partner or ally. My focus has been to drive the team toward greater information and intelligence sharing. We aim to understand developments in our partner nations directly from them, then use our collective capabilities here to elevate our understanding of narcotics movements. This enables everyone involved to take targeted action.
In essence, our success comes from being good teammates and building trust among all partners, not just with the United States, but also fostering direct multilateral collaboration among the partner nations themselves. We are actively transitioning from a largely bilateral approach to one that emphasizes multilateral operations, often under the direct leadership of our foreign liaison officers.
Diálogo: How critical is the participation of foreign liaison officers to the success of JIATF-South and how many are currently integrated within the task force?
Rear Adm. Burdian: We currently have 22 liaison officers from 20 countries. JIATF-South would not be as successful without them. These individuals are the most talented operators and senior leaders from their respective coast guards, national security agencies, and air and space forces. Their presence provides us an invaluable insight into our partners’ capabilities and capacity, and how best to utilize the intelligence they have regarding drug movements originating from or transiting through their countries. In return, they gain lifelong relationships with like-minded senior leaders from across the region, and what they’ve often described to me as a “doctorate in combined and joint operations.”
When I was young, my mother used to tell me, “You’re cleaning where the queen walks,” meaning to move furniture to vacuum thoroughly, not just what’s visible. The lesson I took was, “Don’t settle for what you can see; get into every corner.” That’s what we do here. We leverage every piece of available information from every partner, recognizing that each contribution is critical to tackling this challenging problem set.
Diálogo: What diverse skills and knowledge do they contribute to the fight against transnational criminal organizations (TCOs)?
Rear Adm. Burdian: Communication is the fundamental skill that unites us all; it’s the most important key to success here. We communicate across the command irrespective of nationality or uniform, united by shared purpose and common interest. The ability to understand that common interest and communicate effectively toward achieving our objectives is critical. I’m amazed by the talent that come through our doors — aviators, ship drivers, intelligence specialists, support personnel. The collective expertise within this small command in Key West has a profound impact on how the United States, our partners, and allies combat transnational criminal organizations.
Diálogo: What mutual benefits are derived from the collaboration between these countries, leading to a stronger partnership?
Rear Adm. Burdian: As the saying goes, “The time to make a friend is not when you need a friend.” All of our communities are negatively impacted by the violent criminal networks and TCOs that traffic narcotics. I don’t know a single person whose family hasn’t been impacted in some way by illicit narcotics, which is the direct material benefit for our communities and nations from this work.
Beyond that, the relationships forged here are invaluable. During my time as director, I’ve traveled the region and encountered senior leaders who previously served as foreign liaison officers at JIATF South. When I meet them, I know we share a common language, understanding of purpose, and approach, allowing us to get straight to business. Like any relationship, the more time you spend with a person, organization, group, nation, the better you understand their needs and how to honor those. I feel incredibly fortunate to have met so many tremendous partners throughout the region. This collaborative experience, focused on information sharing and removing barriers to progress, will benefit all of our individual services, organizations, and nations long-term.
Diálogo: Let’s talk about JIATF-South successes. What data can you share with us concerning seizures for 2024 and so far in 2025? Are there any recent operations that stand out?
Rear Adm. Burdian: In 2024, I’m proud to report that JIATF South supported the interdiction of 328 metric tons of cocaine. This amount is roughly equivalent to a 154-foot Coast Guard fast response cutter and represents over $8 billion in lost revenue for TCOs. More importantly, every single metric ton of cocaine represents 833,000 lethal doses, which highlights the tremendous human cost avoidance for families and communities. I’m so proud of the team.
So far in 2025 [up to mid-June], we’re about 60 percent ahead of where we were at the same time last year, over 228 tons of cocaine interdicted. We had a case earlier today [June 16] that’s already over $5 billion in lost revenue for TCOs. While I am proud of JIATF South’s success in developing targets, detecting, monitoring, and handing them over for interdiction, it’s crucial to note that U.S. interdictions by the Coast Guard are only a proportion of the total. The majority of interdictions are executed by our partner nations and allies, which is a truly special aspect of JIATF South.
It’s important to note we won’t interdict our way out of this drug problem; interdiction is just one small, yet very important, blow against TCOs. I’m proud to be part of that puzzle.
Diálogo: How does JIATF-South work to fight TCOs through the entire trafficking process and what is its role in gathering evidence to help partner nations conduct arrests and prosecute?
Rear Adm. Burdian: As I said, we won’t interdict our way out of this narcotics problem. It’s a $59 billion industry for the narcos, for TCOs, so it’s vital to undermine their financial benefit and remove the narcotics themselves because they are so deadly. Every interdiction also provides us an opportunity to develop a greater understanding of how the criminal network operates and is organized. We exploit every piece of information we can to further investigations. The best outcome from a narcotic seizure is another narcotic seizure. We call this our “cycle of success.” It depends on our U.S. investigative partners, but also on every partner in Latin America the Caribbean, Canada, and Europe. We all work together to leverage every piece of information from a seizure to drive us toward the next, with the ultimate goal of dismantling the criminal network.
Diálogo: How has JIATF-South adapted and improved its operations and procedures to more effectively assist partner nations in combating the evolving methods of TCOs? Are there certain technological advances or systems being used to detect and monitor TCOs?
Rear Adm. Burdian: Innovation is a cornerstone of our success at JIATF-South. It’s more than a buzzword; it’s fundamental to how we operate. We are leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning through what we call our “AI battle lab.” We really take daily lessons from operations and build products that use data to accelerate our processes. I recently had some meetings on moving these tools into the unclassified environment so all our partners can benefit.
I am amazed by the innovation and grit within JIATF-South. For the first time this year, we conducted two multinational Ship Special Mission (SSM) operations. [The SSM is a large, contracted vessel featuring a well deck, enabling partner nations to bring their interceptor boats aboard, which facilitates their operations.] One involved Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador, with their own named operations. The other involved Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, also with their own named operations. This allows partners to learn from one another and regionally improve how we combat narcotics movements. The “Ship Special Mission” has really been incredibly beneficial. A decade ago, most of our partners operated within their territorial waters. This mission challenged their imagination: El Salvador routinely operates a thousand nautical miles from shore; Mexico operates 400 miles from shore with an expeditionary navy; and the Dominican Republic and Guatemala are also moving far offshore. These are significant enhancements in their tactical approach, demonstrating the benefit of defense in depth rather than defending only at the immediate border.
Diálogo: Which areas of the region require more effort and resources and what are the main challenges the coalition faces?
Rear Adm. Burdian: I love a resource questions; I like to say, “Give me more, and I will do more.” The challenge in this business is facing an adversary unencumbered by national boundaries, the rule of law, or basic human decency. Our challenge is to be as agile as they are. Sometimes that simply means we need more resources. Our partners have stepped up significantly, contributing everything from maritime patrol aircraft to offshore patrol vessels, interceptors, information and, liaison officers here. These are all crucial parts of the puzzle.
While we need additional resources everywhere, the things I can control are internal to the task force. My last report indicated we shared 96 percent of our unclassified cases with our partners, which is where we need to be. We’ve also improved our sharing of classified cases by about 50 percent. I believe we close the resource gap through information collaboration and teamwork. We still need more resources — ships, aircraft, and personnel. In terms of specific regional needs, the Eastern Pacific is vast, and 65 percent of narcotics movements occur there. Our strategic plan, “Excellence 2030,” and our campaign Plan Martillo prioritize the Eastern Pacific, followed by the Caribbean, and the Atlantic. The Eastern Pacific remains our biggest resource challenge due to its vastness and operational complexity.
Diálogo: What key outcomes or changes do you hope to see as a result of your efforts at JIATF-South and what do you hope will be remembered as your most enduring achievement?
Rear Adm. Burdian: As an operator, my definition of success is if our operational resources in the region feel well supported, both in terms of mission support, and most importantly, with actionable targets every day. That’s a win for me. The U.S. is currently engaged in a campaign to secure its border and repel threats, and the work we do at JIATF-South is critical to that effort. If I leave one enduring legacy with this command, it’s maintaining a sharp focus on our mission: understanding that our work is critical to the safety, security, and prosperity of the United States and all of our partners in Latin America and the Caribbean.
