What GAO Found
The Coast Guard provided varying levels of resources for drug interdiction operations in the “ transit zone ” —the area from South America through the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean that is used to transport illegitimate drugs to the United States—during fiscal years 2009 through 2013, and generally did not meet its performance targets for several reasons. As the figure shows, Coast Guard resources included vessels ( cutters ), aircraft, and law enforcement detachments. The number of cutter days, aircraft hours, and law enforcement insulation days the Coast Guard provided for drug interdict operations in the transportation system zone varied during fiscal years 2009 through 2012, and then sharply declined in fiscal year 2013. For model, in fiscal class 2012, the Coast Guard provided 1,947 cutter days for passage zone operations and in fiscal year 2013 the Coast Guard provided 1,346 days—a 30 percentage decline. During fiscal years 2009 through 2013, the Coast Guard met targets for its elementary drug interdiction mission operation measure—the removal rate of cocaine from noncommercial vessels in the passage zone—once, in fiscal year 2013. Coast Guard officials cited the declining readiness of its age vessels, delays in the delivery of successor vessels, and sequestration as factors affecting Coast Guard resource deployments and the ability to meet its drug interdiction mission operation targets .
Coast Guard Resources Used to Support Drug Interdiction Operations
In corroborate of a Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) feat to address the increased fierce crime associated with illicit drug smuggling into Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Coast Guard has increased vessel and aircraft operations for drug interdiction efforts in these territories by reallocating resources from elsewhere in the Coast Guard. According to Coast Guard officials, these extra resources are drawn from early missions, such as alien migrant interdict. Beginning in September 2012, the Coast Guard implemented a soar operation to provide extra vessels and aircraft to regularly patrol Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. According to Coast Guard officials, the increased vessel and aircraft deployments have since become the newfangled service line flush of resources to be provided for drug interdiction operations there. According to Coast Guard data, the number of vessel hours spent conducting drug interdict operations in these territories more than tripled from fiscal years 2009 through 2013. similarly, the number of maritime patrol aircraft hours spent conducting drug interdict operations in the territories increased—from about 150 trajectory hours in fiscal year 2011 to about 1,000 hours in fiscal year 2013.
Why GAO Did This Study
One character of the U.S. National Drug Control Strategy is to disrupt the stream of cocaine through the passage partition. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the only U.S. territories located geographically within the transit zone, have served as submission points for cocaine destined for the continental United States. In holocene years, union and local government agencies have cited growing levels of violent crime in these territories and assign this violence to illicit drug traffic. Within DHS, the U.S. Coast Guard is the lead federal agency for nautical drug interdict and a key provider of resources to support drug interdiction operations in the theodolite zone and the two territories .
GAO was asked to examine the Coast Guard ‘s drug interdiction efforts in the theodolite partition, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This report addresses ( 1 ) trends in the Coast Guard ‘s deployment of resources in the passage zone and the extent to which the Coast Guard met its performance targets ; and ( 2 ) actions taken by the Coast Guard to combat drug smuggling into Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and trends in vessel and aircraft deployments. GAO analyzed Coast Guard data for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 on drug interdiction resource deployments and mission performance, and interviewed Coast Guard and DHS officials involved in drug interdiction operations .
