Actions of the Armada de Colombia against maritime drug trafficking in the colombian Pacific coast

Abstract

This research addressed the study of the behavior of maritime drug trafficking in the Colombian Pacific between 2019 and 2021, specifically in aspects related to the modalities and routes historically used by transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) versus the operational capabilities and use of means of the Colombian Navy to confront such crime in this region. This research reflects the importance of analyzing and studying the behavior of the phenomenon of maritime drug trafficking within the Armed Forces, as evidenced, for example, by the annual reports of the International Center for Research and Analysis against Maritime Narcotrafficking (CMCON). For this study, a descriptive and quantitative analysis was made of the statistics of events that occurred during the period described above, based on the records of information collected from institutional sources and a bibliographic review of international studies conducted in the region, which helped to determine the trends in the use of methods and techniques, as well as the main exit routes for transporting drugs by the TCOs abroad, in order to define what the Colombian Navy should do and help in the development of the operational strategy to deal with this scourge. With the development of this work, it was possible to identify the trends of modalities and routes used by the TCOs in the Colombian Pacific during the years 2019 to 2021 to transport drugs, as part of the logistics chain of this crime, from the main launching points on the Colombian coasts to the destinations abroad in Central America. Then, based on this analysis, propose alternative operational actions to be carried out by the Colombian Navy to achieve greater efficiency in the fight against drug trafficking, according to the results of the trends identified in blocks of time and geographic space.