An Empirical Assessment of Drug Trafficking Trends from Latin America into the United States: The Role of Fishing Vessels

ABSTRACT

Drug trafficking is one of the most serious crimes of our century. The market reach is estimated to be over $500 billion annually, with a particularly robust user base found in the Americas and Europe. The United States, in particular, is one of the strongest consumer markets for drugs originating from Latin America. While such serious drugs as cocaine have been trafficked into the United States using various means, one method that has been gaining attention is the use of fishing vessels. Nevertheless, studies on the role of fishing vessels in trafficking drugs from Latin America into the United States are rare. To fill this gap, this research uses fishing vessel interception data obtained through Freedom of Information Act request from the United States Coast Guard for the years 2015–2021. Informed by crime science theory, this research examines the geospatial and temporal trends associated with drug trafficking by fishing vessels, as well as such vessel characteristics as flags they carried at the time of interception, and vessel type. Policy implications are discussed in light of the main research findings.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ These include fleetmon.com, globalfishingwatch.org, marinevesseltraffic.com, vesseltracker.com, myshiptracking.com, shipinfo.com, and vesselfinder.com.

² Cocaine removed by the USCG from noncommercial vessels in the maritime domain, which includes cocaine seized by the legal service plus the estimated amount of unrecovered cocaine jettisoned or destroyed as a result of the law enforcement efforts. The amount of cocaine jettisoned or destroyed is a good estimate based on empirical evidence; it is not an absolutely certain quantity. The amount of cocaine removed is best understood in the context of total flow, but even the most authoritative transit information available from the CCDB remains an estimate (USCG 2022).

⁴ The IMO (1987) requires AIS use by all vessels > 500GT, for any vessel > 300GT that is on an “international voyage” and for all passenger vessels: IMO Revised Guidelines for the Onboard Operation Use of Shipborne AIS – A.1106(29) 22 AIS should always be in operation when ships are underway or at anchor. If the master believes that the continual operation of AIS might compromise the safety or security of the ship or where security incidents are imminent, AIS may be switched off (Harati-Mokhtari et al., 2007). Unless it would further compromise the safety or security, if the ship is operating in a mandatory ship reporting system, the master should report this action and the reason for doing so to the competent authority. (Global Fishing Watch)

⁵ The IMO (1987) requires AIS use by all vessels > 500GT, for any vessel > 300GT that is on an “international voyage” and for all passenger vessels: IMO Revised Guidelines for the Onboard Operation Use of Shipborne AIS – A.1106(29) 22 AIS should always be in operation when ships are underway or at anchor. If the master believes that the continual operation of AIS might compromise the safety or security of the ship or where security incidents are imminent, AIS may be switched off (Harati-Mokhtari et al., 2007). Unless it would further compromise the safety or security, if the ship is operating in a mandatory ship reporting system, the master should report this action and the reason for doing so to the competent authority. (Global Fishing Watch)

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ho-Tu Chiang

Ho-Tu Chiang is an alumnus of John Jay College of Crime and Justice, City University of New York (CUNY). He completed his bachelor’s degree from Central Police University, Taiwan, and he holds a Master of Arts in International Crime and Justice from John Jay College of Crime and Justice. His interests lie in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, crimes at sea, fishery management, and environmental justice.

Noah D. Cohen

Noah D. Cohen is a Ph.D. student in the Criminal Justice Program at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the CUNY Graduate Center. He received his M.S. in Criminal Justice and Criminology from San Diego State University. His research interests include international antisemitism, reintegration following armed conflict, and environmental crime, among other topics.

Sumita Das

Sumita Das is a Criminal Justice Ph.D. student from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York - Graduate Center. Her broad research interests include policing and transnational security. She holds an M.A. degree in Applied Quantitative Research from New York University.

Monique Sosnowski

Monique Sosnowski is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at State University of New York-Farmingdale. Her research is focused on wildlife crime and security issues. She holds a doctoral degree in Criminal Justice from CUNY Graduate Center.

Gohar A. Petrossian

Gohar A. Petrossian is an Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She holds a doctoral degree in Criminal Justice from Rutgers University-Newark. She is a quantitative researcher and crime scientist whose research focuses on the crimes against wildlife, with a particular focus on illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.