Murphy, González-Colón Welcome Release of 2020 Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy

Press Release

The two Congresswomen secured legislative language last year requiring the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to prepare this strategy

Today, Representatives Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) and Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR) welcomed the Office of National Drug Control Policy's (ONDCP) release of the 2020 Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy. The publication of this document--which articulates the U.S. strategy to reduce drug trafficking, drug-related violence, and drug addiction in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands--is the result of the two Congresswomen securing legislative language requiring ONDCP to update this strategy, which was last published in 2015.

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands--the United States' Caribbean border--are both a destination and a transshipment point for illegal drugs shipped to the mainland United States, which endangers the lives of Americans living in the two territories and in states along the eastern seaboard, especially Florida.

In 2014, the House Appropriations Committee directed ONDCP to publish the first-ever Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy. In January 2015, ONDCP published the strategy. However, ONDCP had not updated the document since then, despite the congressional requirement that it be published every two years. Reps. González-Colón and Murphy therefore secured language requiring ONDCP to prepare an updated Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy. The law also directed ONDCP to include that strategy in forthcoming versions of the broader National Drug Control Strategy, just as ONDCP is required to do for the Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy and the Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy.

"American citizens in Florida and Puerto Rico face a common threat from international drug trafficking organizations, whose illegal activities cause violence and harm our communities," said Murphy, a former national security specialist at the Department of Defense. "I am proud that Congresswoman González-Colón and I worked across party lines to secure an updated federal government strategy to combat the threat in the Caribbean region. I hope and expect that this strategy will lead the federal government to allocate the necessary resources and personnel to this fight, saving lives and strengthening communities in both Florida and Puerto Rico."

"Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are at the forefront of our Nation's efforts to combat drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations. Since arriving in Congress, I have made it my priority to ensure the federal government responds accordingly. The release of the 2020 Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy is critical to this endeavor, providing the necessary framework for the United States to employ the most effective approach to address drug-related threats and violence on the islands. I'm proud to have worked with Congresswoman Murphy to achieve the strategy's publication and look forward to its implementation," said Rep. Jenniffer González-Colón.

The 2020 Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy establishes three main goals: countering criminal networks, strengthening interdiction and law enforcement capabilities, and targeting specific drug transportation routes.

Importantly, the Strategy recognizes that drug-related violence and drug use in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including violence between transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) operating in the region, endanger the lives of American citizens in the two territories. For instance, the Strategy notes that the murder rates in the two territories have consistently been among the highest in the United States, and that many, if not most, homicides and other violent crimes are connected to the drug trade. According to law enforcement agencies, approximately 60 percent of all murders in Puerto Rico may be drug-related.

The Strategy further recognizes that political instability in Venezuela continues to generate new opportunities for drug trafficking organizations, which complicates U.S. efforts to reduce drug-related threats in the Caribbean region.

Reps. González-Colón and Murphy have joined forces in the past to strengthen the federal government's counterdrug efforts. In October 2018, Rep. González-Colón led a bipartisan letter urging ONDCP to update the geographically-focused strategies accompanying the National Drug Control Strategy, namely the National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy, the National Northern Border Counternarcotics Strategy, and the Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy. Congresswoman Murphy joined as a cosigner.

In May 2018, Rep. González-Colón introduced legislation, H.R. 5869, the Maritime Border Security Review Act, to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct a detailed threat analysis of the United States' maritime border, including the transit zone and the borders and territorial waters of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Maritime Border Security Review Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives by voice vote in September 2018 and was eventually enacted into law as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Section 1813 of P.L. 115 254). Congresswoman Murphy was an original cosponsor of the bill.

You may read the 2020 Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy here.

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