Colombia traffickers

In its report for 2003 on the implementation of article 12, the Board expressed concern at the possibility of traffickers identifying a substitute chemical for potassium permanganate. At that time, the Governments of Colombia and Peru reported record seizures of sodium hypochlorite (also known as leja in the region), which is a suitable substitute for potassium permanganate. The Board notes that seizures of sodium... 

The world s main cocaine trafficking routes continue to run from the Andean region, notably Colombia, to the USA. More than half of Colombia s seizures take place in the ports or at sea (56 per cent in 2005) 63 per cent of the maritime seizures on the Pacific coast and 37 per cent on the Atlantic coast4. In 2005, increasing amounts appear to have left Colombia via Venezuela and Ecuador. According to the US Interagency Assessment... 

Map 1 Central American countries affected by cocaine trafficking from Colombia to the United States... 

Similar analyses could be done for the movement of cocaine from Colombia to Europe, or the movement of heroin via the Balkan route, or any of a number of other trafficking patterns. The key limitation is the lack of standardised data. UNODC needs greater input from Member States to its individual seizures database, including detailed information on the nationalities of traffickers and the techniques employed. On this basis, important analysis of the world drug trafficking situation could be completed for the benefit of all. 

January 15 Colombia extradites four drug traffickers to the United States. The Medellm cartel responds by creating a hit list of U.S. diplomats, businesspersons, and journalists. 

October 13 In Operation Millennium, police in Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador launch simultaneous raids. Thirty-one drug traffickers are arrested, including Fabio Ochoa. 

Serafino, Nina M. Colombia Conditions and U.S. Policy Options. Washington, D.C. Congressional Research Service, 2001. An overview of U.S. policy issues and efforts regarding Colombia. Areas covered include trade and political stability, as well as combating narcotics production and trafficking. There is also a summary of Plan Colombia and other aid efforts. 

The Caribbean region is a major route for large shipments of cocaine from Colombia to the United States. The banking secrecy laws in many Caribbean nations help facilitate money laundering operations by drug traffickers. 

In 2004, a seizure of 18 tons of potassium permanganate in Colombia was tracked back to a company in Mexico. Mexican authorities launched extensive investigations in their country to identify those responsible and, while no arrests resulted from the investigations, the traffickers were no longer able to make use of the front company established to divert the substance. 

According to the DBA, drug-trafficking organizations based in Mexico supply most of the foreign marijuana available in the United States. However, countries in South America (primarily Colombia) and Asia (including Cambodia, Thailand, India, and Pakistan) also cultivate and ship marijuana to the United States. 

Nearly two-thirds of the 2006 budget request for ACl was devoted to Colombia for coca and poppy eradication and disruption of drug trafficking. 

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