Why does it matter?

Cocaine production and trafficking remain at record highs. The supply of this illicit substance has intensified, but so have seizures by law enforcement authorities in most parts of the world. Colombia, the world’s leading producer of coca, is recording record seizures.

According to data from InSight Crime, an investigative and journalistic organisation specialising in organised crime, Colombia recorded the highest seizure figures in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2023. The country seized a total of 739.5 tons of cocaine hydrochloride.

Ecuador ranked second, with more than 195 tons seized in 2023, followed by Panama and Brazil, which seized 95.7 tons and 72.3 tons, respectively. Brazil remains the most important transit point on Latin America’s Atlantic coast, seizing more cocaine than Argentina, Guyana, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela combined. These nations are located on the borders of the producer countries and serve as the main transit points for drug trafficking to Europe and the United States.

Drug trafficking is violence

Drug trafficking groups compete for strategic trafficking routes: Ecuador surpassed all violence rates in 2023 and Costa Rica’s homicide rate increased by 41% amid an ongoing struggle to control cocaine trafficking through its ports.However, in places like Bolivia and Peru, where much of the world’s coca leaf is grown, authorities seized more cocaine last year than in 2022 but homicides remained low.

New maritime drug trafficking routes

During 2024, a drug trafficking route (especially cocaine hydrochloride) has become the expansion route for transnational criminal organisations seeking a route from producer countries (mainly Colombia and Peru) to Europe. The route in question passes through the Southern Cone countries by air, land (Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Venezuela), or river (via the Paraná waterway involving Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina) and crosses the South Atlantic from the ports of Brazil and Argentina mainly to the African countries of the Gulf of Guinea and North Africa (such as Morocco, Nigeria, Liberia, and Senegal, among others).

In this context, European, Latin American and African criminal organisations move in a coordinated manner at a low operational and logistical cost. The presence of European organisations in Latin American territory is gradually intensifying, and likewise, Latin American criminal groups are crossing the Atlantic to establish a presence in Africa and facilitate logistical, storage and transport needs on the African continent for the transit of illicit goods to Europe. All of this occurs with a low profile and little territorial competition, which is strengthening transnational cooperation between criminal gangs and the arrival of drug shipments to their final destination, Europe.

In this reality of continuous innovation in territorial movements, of routes that seek to evade controls by land, sea and air; of articulations and alliances between countries from different continents; and of complex networks in the ports of departure in the Atlantic and the Pacific, the European SEACOP project develops its strategies to identify the movements of international maritime smuggling networks, to frustrate the consolidation of criminal networks, and to prevent drug shipments from reaching their final destination.

Maritime intelligence, seizures and cooperation: keys to success

One of the most successful and sustainable strategies of the project is based on leaving installed capacity in the partner countries in three areas that must be developed jointly to achieve the objectives: maritime and river intelligence, seizure techniques, and the formation of international cooperation networks.

During the first half of the year, we have conducted intelligence training in several countries where the project is present. In the second half of the year, we are working on training in seizure techniques and we have defined two transnational intelligence strategies involving both Latin American countries and African countries such as Senegal.

As a result of this training and simultaneous networking work, two strategies have been defined that combine training and coordination of transnational operations with the support of specialists from the Spanish National Police. These strategies are called Special Response Groups (GRES), with GRES South Atlantic and GRES Ports, which respectively involve the SEACOP partner countries of the southern route and the northern route of maritime and river drug trafficking.

Special Response Groups

Operation GRES SUR was launched last May in Paraguay with the presence of the other countries that make up the group (Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay), while in mid-October GRES Puertos will be launched in Colombia with the presence of Peru, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic, also inviting other key countries in the region such as Panama and Costa Rica.

In its first months of operation, GRES SUR has carried out operations in strategic maritime ports and marinas, such as Santos, Montevideo, Rio de la Plata, Dakar and Asunción, which have resulted in seizures of both drugs and drug money.

Sea containers, cargo ships and pleasure boats have been inspected, leading to cocaine seizures in Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. Drugs have also been seized from a vessel that sailed from Senegal to Argentina and ten people allegedly involved in this trafficking have been arrested.

These results have been possible thanks to a coordinated effort to exchange maritime-river information and carry out joint operations. The Operational Coordination Centres in Argentina and Senegal have played a key role in preventing information leaks and in international coordination.

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