Abstract
Inadequate ports are a major problem in many less developed countries (LDCS). In an era in which international trade involving developing countries is growing rapidly, decisions must be made to provide the necessary infrastructure and superstructure to facilitate the movement of cargo from ship to shore and vice versa. In LDCS, the phenonmenon of the Combined Naval-Commercial Port (CNCP) has not undergone scrutiny. This paper is concerned with describing the nature of the Latin American CNCP. The hypothesis is that commercial port interests have been adversely affected by coexistence. The results of an unquiry comprise the main body of this research.