The Contamination of Containers with Cocaine in the Gulf of Urabá

Authors

  • Cedrid Gómez Torregrosa Servicio Nacional Aeronaval, República de Panamá

Keywords:

containers, barges, cocaine, contamination

Abstract

The Gulf of Urabá is an important Colombian port region that handles the export of tropical fruit, particularly bananas. The aforementioned port does not have port facilities for “container” cargo transfer operations; however, this has not prevented criminal organizations from contaminating containers with cocaine. To provide context for this issue, a literature review was conducted, which made it possible to identify three forms of container contamination: land-based, port-based, and river-based. One of the main conclusions of the study is the recommendation to implement a next-generation non-intrusive cargo inspection system to enable agents to detect container contamination more quickly and accurately.

Author Biography

Cedrid Gómez Torregrosa, Servicio Nacional Aeronaval, República de Panamá

Officer of the National Aeronaval Service (SENAN) of the Republic of Panama, holding the rank of Second Lieutenant, with professional experience in intelligence, operational analysis, and maritime security. He served as Supervising Officer at the Operational Intelligence Center and participated as an international researcher and analyst at the International Center for Research and Analysis Against Maritime Drug Trafficking (CMCON) of the Colombian Navy.

His research experience focuses primarily on maritime drug trafficking, transnational criminal organizations, and the use of submersibles and semi-submersibles for the transportation of illicit substances. In 2022, he participated in the preparation of the specialized publication The Threat of Semi-Submersibles, developed by CMCON, contributing from an operational perspective and through the analysis of the Panamanian experience in combating maritime drug trafficking.

Institutional affiliation: National Aeronaval Service, Republic of Panama.
Areas of expertise: Operational intelligence, maritime security, maritime drug trafficking, and transnational threat analysis.

References

Armada de Colombia. (2017). Incautados 400 kilogramos de cocaína en un buque en el Golfo de Urabá. https://www.armada.mil.co/es/content/incautados-400-kilogramos-de-cocaina-en-un-buque-en-el-golfo-de-uraba

Armada de Colombia. (2019). Incautada cocaína en el Golfo de Urabá. https://www.armada.mil.co/es/content/incautada-cocaina-en-golfo-uraba

Armada de Colombia. (2020). Armada Nacional y Cuerpo Técnico de Investigación de la Fiscalía desarticulan una estructura narcotraficante asociada al Clan del Golfo. https://www.armada.mil.co/eng/node/44555

Barleta, E. P., & Sánchez, R. J. (2022). Informe portuario 2021: Las primeras señales de recuperación en el transporte marítimo internacional vía contenedores de América Latina y el Caribe. Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe. https://repositorio.cepal.org/handle/11362/47901

Diario La Libertad. (2022, 25 de julio). Capturados señalados de ser responsables de enviar droga en puertos de Barranquilla y Urabá. https://diariolalibertad.com/sitio/2022/07/25/capturados-senalados-de-ser-responsables-de-enviar-droga-en-puertos-de-barranquilla-y-uraba/

Dirección General Marítima [DIMAR]. (2022). Anuario estadístico de tráfico marítimo en Colombia 2020–2021 (2.ª ed.).

Eje Bananero. (2016). El perdón de las FARC en Urabá: Una verdad para sanar el odio. Colombia Plural. https://colombiaplural.com/perdon-las-farc-uraba-una-verdad-sanar-odio/eje-bananero/

García-Valencia, C. (2007). Atlas del Golfo de Urabá: Una mirada al Caribe de Antioquia y Chocó. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras José Benito Vives de Andréis (INVEMAR). https://esdeguelibros.edu.co/index.php/editorial/catalog/download/74/87/1226?inline=1

Instituto de Ciencia Política Hernán Echavarría Olózaga. (2018). Una apuesta por la competitividad de Urabá. https://bit.ly/2O0seKD

Noticias. (2022). Puertos de Antioquia, en el mar de las oportunidades: Tres puertos para Urabá [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OOAeJHRdaE

Quesada. (2021, 18 de julio). PCD realiza el segundo decomiso de cocaína más grande en la historia de Costa Rica. Noticias de la Zona Norte. https://elnortehoycr.com/2021/07/18/pcd-realiza-el-segundo-decomiso-de-cocaina-mas-grande-en-la-historia-de-costa-rica/

Semana. (2018). La ruta del narcobanano colombiano. https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/la-ruta-del-narcobanano-colombiano/565030/

Servicio Nacional Aeronaval. (2022, 15 de agosto). Aeronavales encuentran droga en contenedor. https://www.aeronaval.gob.pa/defaulasp?aid=noticias&n=articulos-noticias-2022-20220815.html

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Published

11/22/2022

How to Cite

Gómez Torregrosa, C. (2022). The Contamination of Containers with Cocaine in the Gulf of Urabá. DERROTERO, 2(16), 9. Retrieved from https://revistasescuelanaval.com/derrotero/article/view/202

Issue

Vol. 16 Núm. 02 (2022)

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Rafael Alexis Barria Cortez

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.Licencia de Creative Commons

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