U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
1996 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, March 1997

United States Department of State

Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

Other US Assistance Provided

United States Coast Guard

INCSR (FY1996/1997)

Combined Operations: Coast Guard counterdrug law enforcement in the Caribbean and maritime borders of Latin America is largely dependent on international combined operations. Partnering with law enforcement officials of other nations helps develop indigenous interdiction forces and enhances the cumulative impact of interdiction against drug traffickers in the region. Combined operations with foreign maritime forces provide practical training for foreign, as well as Coast Guard personnel.

CARIBE VENTURE is a recurrent series of multinational operations in the Eastern Caribbean. The Coast Guard sponsored four of these operations in FY1996 and has extended CARIBE VENTURE 1/97 throughout the first half of FY1997. Participants extend legal authority to law enforcement officials of other nations that permit entry and pursuit of suspects through sovereign sea and air spaces. International partners presently include: United Kingdom dependent territories, the Netherlands Antilles, French West Indies, Dominican Republic, Antigua & Barbuda, St Kitts & Nevis, Anguilla & Montserrat, and Dominica. Other RSS member nations participate in combined operations that are conducted in the vicinity of territorial sea and airspaces.

Operation GALLANT SHIELD is a bilateral combined operation scheduled for FY97 that dedicates law enforcement assets from Martinique and the Coast Guard to maritime traffic in the vicinity of the French West Indies. Approval of entry and overflight authority into French territorial waters is a genuine sign of growth in drug enforcement. This combined operation will also enhance interoperability procedures and equipment.

HALCON is a series of counterdug and alien migrant operations between the USG and the Dominican Republic (DomRep). The November 1996 HALCON V operation featured increased coastal patrols with new small boats in DomRep and extended overflight authority for USG aircraft.

OPBAT is an ongoing interdiction program involving forward staged USCG and Army air assets, DEA agents, along with Bahamian Police and Turks and Caicos Islands Police forces. There are three primary staging sites for Coast Guard and Army helicopters which may respond to targets throughout the Bahamas and Florida Straits. Exportable OPBAT style techniques are currently being considered for implementation in high drug trafficking areas throughout the transit zone.

OPVISTA missions are conducted quarterly by a high or medium endurance cutter operating in the Caribbean or Eastern Pacific. These Visits for International Exchanges and Technical Assistance help foster closer working relations between law enforcement officials and highlight the importance of international cooperation.

Law Enforcement Detachments (LEDETS) are largely responsible for the success of combined operations. Coast Guard currently deploys LEDETS on British and Dutch warships which extends the Coast Guard's unique maritime law enforcement authority. Foreign vessels with embarked LEDETS made five significant drug seizures in 1996.

The Coast Guard also conducts coincidental operations with the Mexican Navy in the Gulf of Mexico and the Eastern Pacific. During these operations, Coast Guard and Mexican Naval units operate simultaneously, and exchange on-scene information which may assist in interdiction of drug traffickers. The coordination and frequency of these operations is expected to increase in FY 1997.

Maritime CD Agreements: Coast Guard officers are key members of interagency US delegations traveling to Caribbean countries to negotiate bilateral maritime counterdrug agreements. Clauses of the "Six Part" model agreements include shipboarding, shiprider, pursuit, entry-to-investigate, overflight, and order to land. Coast Guard officials are also assisting the State Department in negotiating agreements to improve maritime migrant interdiction operations.

Coast Guard officers are also posted in key embassies of source and transit zone countries. Current billets include: the Bahamas, Colombia, Haiti, Mexico, and Panama. These officers coordinate a significant amount of informal training and assistance to host nation forces by visiting Coast Guard cutter and aircraft crewmembers.

Training: The Coast Guard deploys Mobile Training Teams (MTTs) to source and transit zone countries at the request of foreign governments. Short term law enforcement MTT normally consist of four instructors who conduct classroom and hands-on training. During FY 1996, MTTs provided instruction to over 2,000 students in 45 different countries. Long term training is being conducted with Bolivian, Colombian, Haitian, and Peruvian, law enforcement and military agencies.

International Training Division (ITD) personnel may be deployed for several months where longer presence is warranted. These instructors train foreign law enforcement authorities on coastal waterways management, and help establish permanent training programs in countries such as Bolivia and Panama. These self sustaining schools are revisited periodically by MTT personnel.

Coast Guard resources also extend training to foreign shipriders, and participate in cooperative multinational training exercises, such as Operation TRADEWINDS. This exercise is an annual program focused on increasing operational compatibility among neighboring law enforcement forces in the Eastern Caribbean.

The following pages provide actual and projected training and assistance events for FY 1996 and FY 1997.