As part of the fight against the world problem of illicit drugs, Colombia, together with 25 nations of the Americas and Europe, on April 1 the fifth phase of the International Naval Campaign to Combat Drug Trafficking Orión began; this operation has been taking place since 2018 in the region.
These are multilateral operations that integrate the efforts and capacities of 51 national and international institutions and agencies committed to hit drug trafficking and its related crimes by sea and river, through the exchange of information that helps these nations strengthen their illicit drug interdiction capabilities.
This effort integrates the multimodal interdiction capabilities of more than 40 maritime and river surface units, 20 air units and more than 60 intercepting speedboats from related countries.
Colombia participates through the National Navy, which coordinates the operation together with the National Army, the Air Force, the National Police, the Financial Information and Analysis Unit and the Attorney General's Office, making our country an international benchmark in the fight against this situation.
Results prior to the fifth phase of Orion
Prior to the start of the fifth phase of the International Naval Campaign to Combat Drug Trafficking Orion, 17 countries, including Colombia, developed a strategic alliance in the framework of international cooperation agreements to maintain the operation against drug trafficking in the region in the first months of 2020.
In this preliminary stage, capacities of more than 20 agencies and institutions from Colombia, Belgium, Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, United States, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Dominican Republic got together.
During the first 3 months of 2020, this effort led to the discovery of more than 130.6 tons of cocaine hydrochloride, which is equivalent to 326'700,000 doses valued at USD 4.4 billion; this also, at that time, represented 52,272 hectares of illicit plantations. In terms of findings of marijuana, the results were 15.4 tons, represented in 38'575,000 doses with an expected cost of 77 150,000 USD.
In this same period, 12 semi-submarines, 57 ships, and 174 people of different nationalities were captured, which represents a substantial impact on the drug trafficking value chain, a significant prevention of consumption and a decrease in supply, as a fundamental contribution to the safety and public health of the States.
With its participation and leadership in the International Naval Campaign to Fight Drug Trafficking Orion, Colombia reaffirms its commitment to work together against this situation with the objectives of improving regional interoperability, strengthening trust and multimodal maritime and fluvial interdiction, integrating the international effort, dismantling drug trafficking networks, among others.
