COAST GUARD 

Resources Provided 

for Drug Interdiction 

Operations in the 

Transit Zone, Puerto 

Rico, and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands 

Report to Congressional Requesters

June 2014 

GAO-14-527 

United States Government Accountability Office 
United States Government Accountability Office

Highlights of GAO-14-527, a report to 

congressional requesters

June 2014

COAST GUARD

Resources Provided for Drug Interdiction Operations 

in the Transit Zone, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands

Why GAO Did This Study

One part of the U.S. National Drug 

Control Strategy is to disrupt the flow 

of cocaine through the transit zone. 

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands, the only U.S. territories located 

geographically within the transit zone, 

have served as entry points for cocaine 

destined for the continental United 

States. In recent years, federal and 

local government agencies have cited 

growing levels of violent crime in these 

territories and attribute this violence to 

illicit drug trafficking. Within DHS, the 

U.S. Coast Guard is the lead federal 

agency for maritime drug interdiction 

and a key provider of resources to 

support drug interdiction operations in 

the transit zone and the two territories. 

GAO was asked to examine the Coast 

Guard’s drug interdiction efforts in the 

transit zone, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands. This report addresses 

(1) trends in the Coast Guard’s 

deployment of resources in the transit 

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.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is not making recommendations 

in this report. DHS provided technical 

comments on a draft of this report, 

which were incorporated, as 

appropriate.

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 illicit 

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 

detachment days the Coast Guard provided for drug interdiction operations in the 

transit zone varied during fiscal years 2009 through 2012, and then sharply 

declined in fiscal year 2013. For example, in fiscal year 2012, the Coast Guard 

provided 1,947 cutter days for transit zone operations and in fiscal year 2013 the 

Coast Guard provided 1,346 days—a 30 percent decline. During fiscal years 

2009 through 2013, the Coast Guard met targets for its primary drug interdiction 

mission performance measure—the removal rate of cocaine from noncommercial 

vessels in the transit zone—once, in fiscal year 2013. Coast Guard officials cited 

the declining readiness of its aging vessels, delays in the delivery of replacement 

vessels, and sequestration as factors affecting Coast Guard resource 

deployments and the ability to meet its drug interdiction mission performance 

targets. 

Coast Guard Resources Used to Support Drug Interdiction Operations

In support of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) effort to address the 

increased violent 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 additional resources are drawn from other missions, such as alien 

migrant interdiction. Beginning in September 2012, the Coast Guard 

implemented a surge operation to provide additional 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 new baseline level of resources to be provided for drug interdiction 

operations there. According to Coast Guard data, the number of vessel hours 

spent conducting drug interdiction operations in these territories more than tripled 

from fiscal years 2009 through 2013. Similarly, the number of maritime patrol 

aircraft hours spent conducting drug interdiction operations in the territories 

increased—from about 150 flight hours in fiscal year 2011 to about 1,000 hours 

in fiscal year 2013.

View GAO-14-527. For more information, 

contact Stephen L. Caldwell at (202) 512-

9610, or at caldwells@gao.gov.
Page i GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Letter 1 

Background 6

The Coast Guard’s Resource Deployments for Transit Zone Drug 

Interdiction Operations Have Varied in Recent Years 12

The Coast Guard Has Supported Counter-drug Efforts in Puerto 

Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with Increased Asset 

Deployments 25

Agency Comments 31

Appendix I The Coast Guard’s Process for Allocating Drug Interdiction 

Resources 33

Appendix II Operation Caribbean Guard 37

Appendix III GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 38

Related GAO Products 39

Tables

Table 1: Estimated Primary and Secondary Cocaine Flow by 

Noncommercial Maritime Vessels to Puerto Rico and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands, Fiscal Years 2009 through 2013 31

Table 2: Department of Homeland Security Components 

Participating in Operation Caribbean Guard and 

Examples of Actions Reported Taken 37

Figures

Figure 1: The Source, Transit, and Arrival Zones and the 

Percentage of Estimated Noncommercial Maritime 

Vessel Flows of Cocaine in Fiscal Year 2013, by 

Smuggling Route 7

Figure 2: Coast Guard Resources Used to Support Drug 

Interdiction Operations 12

Contents
Page ii GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Figure 3: Coast Guard Cutter Day Coverage Targets Compared 

with Actual Cutter Days Provided to the Joint Interagency 

Task Force-South (JIATF-S), Fiscal Years 2009 through 

2013 14

Figure 4: Coast Guard Maritime Patrol Aircraft Hour Allocation 

Target Compared with Actual Aircraft Hours Provided to 

the Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S), Fiscal 

Years 2009 through 2013 16

Figure 5: Coast Guard Airborne Use-of-Force (AUF) Targets 

Compared with Actual AUF Days Provided to the Joint 

Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S), Fiscal Years 

2009 through 2013 17

Figure 6: Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) 

Allocation Targets Compared with Actual LEDET Days 

Provided to the Joint Interagency Task Force South 

(JIATF-S), Fiscal Years 2009 through 2013 18

Figure 7: Coast Guard Cocaine Removal Rate Targets Compared 

to Actual Cocaine Removal Rates in the Transit Zone, 

Fiscal Years 2009 through 2013 20

Figure 8: Coast Guard Vessel Hours Conducting Drug Interdiction 

Mission Operations in the Sector San Juan Area of 

Responsibility, Fiscal Years 2009 through 2013 29

Figure 9: Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) Hours Reported for Drug 

Interdiction Operations in the Sector San Juan Area of 

Responsibility, Fiscal Years 2009 through 2013 30

Figure 10: Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Resource Allocation 

Process Flow 36
Page iii GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Abbreviations

AUF airborne use of force

CBP Customs and Border Protection

CCDB Consolidated Counterdrug Database

DHS Department of Homeland Security

FRC fast response cutter

HEC high endurance cutter

HIDTA High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area

ICE Immigration and Customs Enforcement

JIATF-S Joint Interagency Task Force South

LEDET Law Enforcement Detachment

MEC medium endurance cutter

MPA maritime patrol aircraft

NSC national security cutter

ONDCP Office of National Drug Control Policy

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Page 1 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations 

441 G St. N.W. 

Washington, DC 20548 

June 16, 2014 

The Honorable Nick J. Rahall II 

Ranking Member 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

House of Representatives 

The Honorable Donna M. Christensen 

House of Representatives 

The Honorable John L. Mica 

House of Representatives 

The Honorable Pedro R. Pierluisi 

House of Representatives 

One of the priorities of the U.S. National Drug Control Strategy is to 

disrupt the flow of illicit drugs to the United States. Within the Department 

of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. Coast Guard is the lead federal 

agency for maritime drug interdiction and a major contributor of U.S. 

government vessels and aircraft deployed for operations to disrupt the 

flow of illicit drugs smuggled from South America to the United States 

through the Western Hemisphere transit zone (the transit zone)—a 6 

million square mile area of routes drug smugglers use to transport illicit 

drugs that includes the eastern Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the 

Caribbean Sea. The Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S), 

under the U.S. Southern Command, oversees detection and monitoring 

operations of drug smuggling in the transit zone, relying on the vessel and 

aircraft resources provided by the Coast Guard, other federal agencies 

and allied countries.1

 Cocaine interdiction is a U.S. National Drug Control 

Strategy priority, and according to the Office of National Drug Control 

Policy (ONDCP), most of the cocaine being smuggled in the transit zone 

 

1

The U.S. Southern Command is one of nine unified combatant commands in the 

Department of Defense. The Southern Command is a joint command comprised of more 

than 1,200 military and civilian personnel representing the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine 

Corps, Coast Guard, and several other federal agencies. It is responsible for providing 

contingency planning, operations, and security cooperation in Central America, South 

America, and the Caribbean. The Key West, Florida-based JIATF-S, a direct-reporting unit 

of the Southern Command, is the primary operations center and coordinator for detecting 

and monitoring suspected air and maritime drug trafficking in the transit zone. 
 

Page 2 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

is being done by noncommercial maritime vessels2—with over 80 percent 

of the estimated flow by way of routes in the eastern Pacific Ocean and 

western Caribbean Sea in fiscal year 2013.3

As the only U.S. territories located within the transit zone, Puerto Rico 

and the U.S. Virgin Islands have served as entry points for illicit drugs 

destined for the continental United States. In recent years, federal reports 

and officials from local government agencies have cited growing levels of 

violent crime in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and linked this 

violence to illicit drug smuggling, particularly of cocaine. To reduce the 

supply of illicit drugs flowing into and through the territories and to 

address the growing violence, officials from the territories have sought 

increased assistance from federal agencies. The Coast Guard, in 

particular, has been tasked by DHS to increase vessel and aircraft 

deployments for drug interdiction operations in the area. However, the 

Coast Guard faces the challenge of balancing increasing drug interdiction 

resource demands for its limited vessels and aircraft in Puerto Rico and 

the U.S. Virgin Islands with demands for those it deploys across the 

transit zone, while also meeting resource requirements for its other 

missions, such as Alien Migrant Interdiction and Search and Rescue.

You asked us to review the Coast Guard’s drug interdiction resource 

allocation and mission performance in the transit zone and in Puerto Rico 

and the U.S. Virgin Islands. This report addresses the following 

questions:

• What were the trends in the Coast Guard’s deployments of resources 

to the transit zone for drug interdiction operations during fiscal years 

2009 through 2013 and to what extent did the Coast Guard meet its 

deployment and mission performance targets during this time period?

• What actions has the Coast Guard taken to combat illicit drug 

smuggling into Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands during fiscal 

years 2009 through 2013 and what have been the trends in vessel 

and aircraft deployments during this time period? 

 

2

Noncommercial maritime smuggling involves the use of various vessels, including go-fast 

boats (speedboats), fishing vessels, semi-submersible vessels, and fully submersible 

vessels.

3

ONDCP oversees and coordinates implementation of the U.S. National Drug Control 

Strategy, including interdiction efforts in the transit zone.
 

Page 3 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

To determine the trends in the Coast Guard’s deployments of resources 

to the transit zone, we reviewed Coast Guard documents, including 

memorandums and guidance describing the Coast Guard’s drug 

interdiction mission and its process for allocating resources to JIATF-S. 

We reviewed Coast Guard-provided data on deployments of resources to 

JIATF-S during fiscal years 2009 through 2013, which included vessel 

and aircraft hours provided for the drug interdiction mission and resource 

deployment targets. We also reviewed and analyzed Coast Guard drug 

interdiction mission performance data for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 

and compared the performance data against mission performance 

targets. In addition, we interviewed Coast Guard officials at Coast Guard 

headquarters and at field units that are responsible for planning and 

conducting drug interdiction operations and tracking deployment and 

mission performance. Specifically, we met with officials from the Coast 

Guard’s Atlantic and Pacific Area Commands, and the Coast Guard’s 

Seventh District (Miami, Florida) and Eleventh District (Alameda, 

California).4

 

4

The Coast Guard is divided into two theater commands: Atlantic Area and Pacific Area. 

The area commands are responsible for Coast Guard operations, and they develop and 

implement operational objectives for Coast Guard missions, including developing 

schedules for icebreakers, major cutters, long-range surveillance aircraft, and deployable 

specialized forces. District commands are responsible for regional operations and assume 

tactical control of allocated assets in their respective areas of responsibility, including 

scheduling of patrol boats, and air stations that operate maritime patrol aircraft and 

helicopters. Sector commands are responsible for subregional and local operations within 

each district. They assume tactical control of allocated assets, such as patrol boats, and 

execute operations in their respective areas of responsibility through tasking of such 

assets. 

We met with officials from these two districts because these 

two districts are the only Coast Guard districts that have operational roles 

for drug interdiction and apprehension in the transit zone—with the 

Seventh District responsible for Caribbean Sea operations and the 

Eleventh District responsible for eastern Pacific Ocean operations. We 

also met with officials from the Coast Guard’s Intelligence Coordination 

Center, in Suitland, Maryland, which tracks information on illegal 

smuggling events. Further, we met with officials from the DHS Office of 

Policy’s Counter Illicit Trafficking Section, which is responsible for 

coordinating DHS’s counterdrug strategy, and officials from ONDCP. We 

also met with officials from the Department of Justice, who were 

responsible for providing prosecutorial and law enforcement assistance 

for drug interdiction operations in the transit zone. Finally, we also visited 

Key West, Florida, to meet with officials from JIATF-S to obtain 

information on U.S. government-wide drug interdiction planning and 
 

Page 4 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

operations in the transit zone. We assessed the reliability of Coast Guard 

drug interdiction resource deployment and mission performance data we 

obtained and analyzed in this report by reviewing the Coast Guard’s data 

management practices and interviewing knowledgeable officials about 

how the respective data were compiled and the systems that produced 

the data. On the basis of our assessments, we determined that the data 

provided to us were sufficiently reliable for the purposes of this report.

To determine the actions the Coast Guard has taken to combat illicit drug 

trafficking in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, including resource 

deployments during fiscal years 2009 through 2013, we relied on data 

prepared by the Coast Guard that tabulate vessel and aircraft mission 

hours provided for drug interdiction operations in the Sector San Juan 

area of responsibility. We reviewed Coast Guard documents, including 

memorandums and operational orders regarding Coast Guard drug 

interdiction operations in these territories. We also reviewed Consolidated 

Counterdrug Database (CCDB) estimates of the flow of cocaine in the 

transit zone provided by the Coast Guard.5 In prior work, we reported on 

the inherent difficulty in obtaining reliable data on an illegal activity.6

 

5

The CCDB is the U.S. government’s authoritative database for illicit drug movement in 

the Western Hemisphere. The Coast Guard and other federal government agencies use 

the CCDB to capture all known and suspected drug movement. During quarterly 

interagency conferences, CCDB partners develop and reconcile information about the 

quantity of cocaine seized during drug interdiction operations. 

Notwithstanding such limitations, on the basis of conversations with 

cognizant Coast Guard officials, we determined that the data provided to 

us were sufficiently reliable to provide estimates of the magnitude of 

cocaine destined for the United States (including Puerto Rico and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands) from fiscal years 2009 through 2013. We identify 

relevant limitations where we present CCDB data later in this report. We 

interviewed Coast Guard headquarters officials and commanders from 

field units including Coast Guard Sector San Juan—the field unit with 

responsibility for conducting drug interdiction and other operations in the 

maritime area of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands—and the Coast 

6

See GAO, Drug Control: U.S. Assistance Has Helped Mexican Counternarcotics Efforts, 

but Tons of Illicit Drugs Continue to Flow into the United States, GAO-07-1018

(Washington, D.C.: Aug.17, 2007); Drug Control: Agencies Need to Plan for Likely 

Declines in Drug Interdiction Assets, and Develop Better Performance Measures for 

Transit Zone Operations, GAO-06-200 (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 15, 2005); and Drug 

Control: Long-Standing Problems Hinder U.S. International Efforts, GAO/NSIAD-97-75 

(Washington, D.C.: Feb. 27, 1997). 
 

Page 5 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Guard’s Seventh District, which is responsible for overseeing operations 

and allocating vessels and aircraft for Sector San Juan. We also 

interviewed officials from DHS headquarters, including the Office of 

Intergovernmental Affairs and the Office of Policy, to obtain information 

on DHS-wide efforts to combat illicit drug flows into the territories. We 

also met with officials from Sector Miami and Coast Guard Air Station 

Miami—key providers of vessels and aircraft, respectively, for drug 

interdiction operations in the Caribbean—to obtain information on their 

roles in supporting drug interdiction operations conducted in the 

Caribbean. We visited Puerto Rico to meet with Coast Guard Sector San 

Juan officials responsible for planning and commanding drug interdiction 

operations in the Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands areas, and with 

officials from other federal agencies conducting counter drug efforts in the 

territories, including DHS, and its components including Customs and 

Border Protection (CBP), and Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

(ICE). During our visit to Puerto Rico, we also visited the locations where 

Coast Guard Sector San Juan’s vessels and aircraft are based—in San 

Juan and Air Station Borinquen in Aguadilla, respectively—to discuss 

drug interdiction operations, including vessel and aircraft deployments. In 

addition, to obtain information on challenges faced by the Puerto Rican 

and U.S. Virgin Islands governments as a result of illicit drug smuggling 

there, we met with local officials, including senior officials from the Puerto 

Rico Governors office, Puerto Rico Police Department, Puerto Rico 

National Guard, and officials from the U.S. Virgin Islands Governor’s 

office and Police Department.

We conducted this performance audit from September 2013 to June 2014 

in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 

Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain 

sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that 

the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and 

conclusions based on our audit objectives.
 

Page 6 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

According to ONDCP, disrupting the illicit flow of drugs will reduce their 

availability, increase their cost, and eventually, reduce the rate of illicit 

drug usage. One part of the ONDCP strategy to disrupt the illicit drug 

market focuses interdiction efforts on seizing cocaine and other illicit 

drugs in the transit zone that are bound for the United States (arrival 

zone) from South America (source zone).7 Virtually all of the cocaine 

shipped to the United States travels through the transit zone from South 

America—entering Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean en route 

to the United States. The transit zone is a 6 million square mile area that 

encompasses Central America, Mexico, the eastern Pacific Ocean, the 

Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. The transit zone is divided into 

four maritime trafficking routes: Eastern Pacific, Western Caribbean, 

Central Caribbean, and Eastern Caribbean. Drug traffickers use go-fast 

boats, fishing vessels, submersible vessels, noncommercial aircraft, and 

other types of conveyances to smuggle cocaine from the source zone to 

Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean en route to the United 

States.8

ONDCP’s strategy for drug interdiction in the transit zone is focused on 

cocaine because ONDCP has identified cocaine as a leading drug threat 

to the United States. According to Coast Guard officials, the largest 

estimated share of cocaine has been smuggled through the Eastern 

Pacific and Western Caribbean routes of the transit zone for nearly two 

decades. For example, the principal source of information about cocaine 

flow in the transit zone is the CCDB. According to the CCDB, in fiscal 

year 2013, approximately 84 percent of the estimated cocaine flow, as 

measured in metric tons, was by noncommercial maritime means through 

these two routes. Figure 1 shows a map indicating the source, transit, and 

arrival zones—with the fiscal year 2013 estimated noncommercial 

maritime cocaine flow through the four smuggling routes and the locations 

of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands within the transit zone.

 

7

According to ONDCP, in fiscal year 2012, 90 percent of the illicit cocaine (by volume) 

was shipped through the transit zone by maritime vessels and 10 percent by aircraft. 

8

Upon landfall, bulk cocaine is broken down into multiple smaller shipments for transit into 

Mexico and the United States. 

Background

Drug Interdiction Is a Key 

Component of ONDCP’s 

Counterdrug Efforts
 

Page 7 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Figure 1: The Source, Transit, and Arrival Zones and the Percentage of Estimated Noncommercial Maritime Vessel Flows of 

Cocaine in Fiscal Year 2013, by Smuggling Route

Note: According to Department of Homeland Security and Office of National Drug Control Policy 

officials, estimates of the amount of cocaine that enters the United States are based on intelligence 

and other information that may not reflect the actual flow of cocaine toward the United States.
 

Page 8 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

As the southernmost points of entry into the United States and the only 

U.S. territories within the transit zone, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands are key entry points for illicit drugs being smuggled into the United 

States. Like the continental United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands are considered part of the arrival zone, yet they are located 

geographically within the Eastern Caribbean route of the transit zone. 

According to a 2011 Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence 

Center report,9 Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are attractive 

targets for illicit drug smuggling because of their proximity to the source 

zone and Puerto Rico’s location within the United States’ Customs 

zone.10 According to Coast Guard officials, the illicit drug flow through the 

Central and Eastern Caribbean routes generally consists of maritime 

smuggling from South America to the Dominican Republic and eventual 

transshipment to Puerto Rico (secondary flow) and, to a lesser extent, 

maritime smuggling directly from South America to Puerto Rico and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands (primary flow). CCDB drug flow estimates show that in 

fiscal year 2013, about 3 percent of the cocaine flow in the transit zone 

was smuggled toward Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.11 The 

Department of Justice has reported that most of this flow is destined for 

the continental United States—with the rest remaining on the islands for 

local consumption.12

 

9

See Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), Drug 

Market Analysis 2011; U.S. Department of Justice National Drug Intelligence Center, 

Johnstown, Pennsylvania. September 2011. The HIDTA program, created by the AntiDrug Abuse Act of 1988, provides assistance to federal, state, local, and tribal law 

enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions

of the United States. See Pub. L. No. 100-690, § 1005(c), 102 Stat. 4181, 4186-87 (1988). 

As of May 2014, there were 28 HIDTAs, which included approximately 16 percent of all 

counties in the United States and 60 percent of the U.S. population. HIDTA-designated 

counties are located in 46 states, as well as in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 

the District of Columbia.

However, estimates indicate that illicit cocaine 

10Puerto Rico is within United States Customs territory, and therefore, commercial aviation 

and maritime travel between Puerto Rico and the continental United States is not subject 

to the same level of scrutiny. See 19 C.F.R. § 101.1. According to federal reports, illicit

drug traffickers seek to exploit this for smuggling drugs into the continental United States. 

11 According to our analysis of CCDB data provided by the Coast Guard, about 4 percent 

of the estimated non-commercial maritime cocaine flow in the transit zone was in the 

Eastern Caribbean transit route and 12 percent was in the Central Caribbean route. The 

data showed that about 3 percent of the transit zone total reported was destined for 

Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands (either directly from South America or via the 

Dominican Republic).

12See Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), Drug 

Market Analysis 2011.U.S. Department of Justice, National Drug Intelligence Center. 
 

Page 9 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

smuggling toward Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands has increased 

each year since fiscal year 2009. For example, according to CCDB 

estimates, cocaine flow toward Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands 

has more than doubled in recent years, from 6.4 metric tons in fiscal year 

2009 to 17.3 metric tons in fiscal year 2013.

Federal and local government officials in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands have raised concerns about the illicit drug flow and have identified 

it as a key contributor to the high levels of murder and other violent crime 

on the islands.13 In particular, homicide rates in the two territories have 

risen in recent years, and federal and local officials have linked the rise of 

the homicide rates, in part, to illicit cocaine trafficking on the Island. 

According to a 2014 study by the United Nations Office on Drugs and 

Crime, the 2010 homicide rate in Puerto Rico was about 27 per 100,000 

persons and in the U.S. Virgin Islands it was about 53 per 100,000 

persons—more than 5 times (Puerto Rico) and 11 times (U.S. Virgin 

Islands) the U.S. national rate.14 According to a 2011 report issued by the 

High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area office that oversees the territories, 

most of this violence is associated with turf wars for control over the local 

drug market.15

JIATF-S relies on DHS (Coast Guard and CBP) and the Department of 

Defense (Navy) to provide vessels and aircraft for conducting drug 

interdiction operations in the transit zone.16

 

13For example, see Preventing a Security Crisis in the Caribbean, a report by the United 

States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, 112th Cong., 2nd sess., 

September 2012. 

JIATF-S also receives 

operational resources from allied countries, with Canada, the

Netherlands, and the United Kingdom providing maritime detection and 

monitoring assistance. According to JIATF-S and Coast Guard officials, 

14United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Global Study on Homicide 2013: Trends, 

Contexts, Data (Vienna, Austria: March 2014).

15See Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), Drug 

Market Analysis 2011.

16For example, CBP provides a major share of maritime patrol aircraft support to JIATF-S, 

while the Navy provides both aircraft and vessel support. According to JIATF-S, in fiscal 

year 2013, CBP provided over 6,134 maritime patrol aircraft hours to JIATF-S. The U.S. 

Navy provided 2,100 maritime patrol aircraft hours and 429 days of vessel deployment. 

We discuss the Coast Guard’s resource deployments to JIATF-S later in this report. 

Federal Agencies’ Roles in 

Maritime Drug Interdiction 

Operations
 

Page 10 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

the JIATF-S strategy is to use its available vessel and aircraft resources 

to patrol the transit zone far from U.S. shores and close to the source 

zone countries in South America in order to increase chances the 

interdictions are of larger load sizes and higher purity than would 

otherwise be the case and to cause greater disruption to illicit drugsmuggling organizations. JIATF-S officials reported deploying the majority 

of available vessels and aircraft to patrol the Eastern Pacific and Western 

Caribbean routes of the transit zone because the routes have accounted 

for the largest drug flow—and therefore deploying resources to these 

routes will have the greatest impact on efforts to disrupt cocaine flow.

The Coast Guard is the lead federal agency for maritime drug interdiction 

in the transit zone, and its operations with JIATF-S are a key element of 

the Coast Guard’s counter-drug efforts.17 Overall, the Coast Guard is a 

major contributor of JIATF-S vessel and aircraft resources.18 The 

resources the Coast Guard provides to JIATF-S generally include major 

cutters,

19 maritime patrol aircraft (planes), and helicopters capable of

deploying airborne use of force (AUF).20

 

17According to the Coast Guard, the elements of its drug interdiction strategy are to (1) 

maintain a surface and air interdiction presence to deny smugglers access to maritime 

routes and deter trafficking activity, (2) strengthen ties with partner nations to support their 

ability to reduce production and trafficking within their sovereign boundaries, and (3) 

support interagency and international efforts to combat drug smuggling through increased 

cooperation and coordination. For more information on U.S. government efforts to support 

partner nation counter drug efforts, see GAO, Status of Funding, Equipment, and Training 

for the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, 

In addition, the Coast Guard 

provides JIATF-S with deployable specialized forces—specifically Law 

GAO-13-367R (Washington, D.C.: Mar. 20, 

2013).

18According to JIATF-S, drug interdiction efforts include the following elements: detecting 

and monitoring potential drug-smuggling vessels and interdicting and apprehending drug 

smuggling vessels, crew, and contraband. For transit zone operations, JIATF-S maintains 

tactical control of vessels and aircraft during the detection and monitoring phase, then 

switches tactical control to the Coast Guard for interdiction and apprehension. Tactical 

control is switched to the Coast Guard because the Coast Guard is authorized by federal 

law to make maritime arrests in international waters, and JIATF-S, as a Department of 

Defense component, is not. See 14 U.S.C. § 89.

19According to the Coast Guard, major cutters include 418-foot national security cutters 

(NSC), 378-foot high endurance cutters (HEC), and both 270-foot and 210-foot medium 

endurance cutters (MEC). Major cutters are armed with multiple crew-served weapons, 

carry small boats aboard, and can also deploy with a helicopter aboard. The major cutters 

are capable of extended on-scene presence—that is, remaining at sea for between 21 and 

60 days without reprovisioning.

20We discuss AUF later in this report. 
 

Page 11 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Enforcement Detachments (LEDET)—embarked on U.S. naval and allied 

vessels. We discuss AUF and LEDETs in more detail later in this report.

The Coast Guard’s process for allocating drug interdiction resources is 

focused on meeting commitments for strategic priorities, such as JIATF-S 

transit zone operations, first, before dividing up its remaining resources 

between its Atlantic and Pacific Area Commands. According to Coast 

Guard guidance and discussions with DHS officials, the Coast Guard 

determines the amount of resource levels—targets for the amount of time 

selected vessels, aircraft, and LEDETs are provided to JIATF-S—through 

an annual operational planning process that considers factors, including 

resource requirements for strategic priorities, evolving maritime risks, and 

the availability of the Coast Guard’s fleet of vessels and aircraft. JIATF-S 

requests for resource requirements specify the capabilities (types of 

vessels or aircraft) and corresponding capacities (number of days for 

vessels or resource hours for aircraft) for the Coast Guard, CBP, and the 

Department of Defense. The Coast Guard reviews JIATF-S resource 

requirement requests, sets resource deployment targets for JIATF-S, and 

communicates these targets to DHS for inclusion in a DHS-wide 

Statement of Intent of planned deployments to JIATF-S. The Coast Guard 

then allocates its remaining available resources to the Atlantic and Pacific 

Area Commands, which further allocate the resources for implementing 

the Coast Guard’s 11 missions, including drug interdiction.21

Unlike with overall transit zone operations, JIATF-S does not oversee 

detection and monitoring efforts for drug smuggling in the U.S. 

territories.

See 

appendix I for more details on the Coast Guard’s drug interdiction mission 

resource allocation process.

22

 

21The Coast Guard’s 11 missions include Search and Rescue; Maritime Safety; Ports, 

Waterways and Coastal Security; Drug Interdiction; Migrant Interdiction; Defense 

Readiness; Ice Operations; Aids to Navigation and Waterways Management; Marine 

Environmental Protection; Living Marine Resources; and Other Law Enforcement. 

Rather, DHS has the lead federal responsibility for planning 

and coordinating operations to interdict the maritime flow of illicit drugs in 

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands because they are U.S. territories 

and part of the arrival zone. In addition to the Coast Guard, CBP’s Puerto 

Rico-based Caribbean Air and Marine Branch conducts marine 

interdiction and patrol operations using a mix of planes, helicopters, and 

22JIATF-S’s area of responsibility does not include Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. 
 

Page 12 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

small boats for coastal drug interdiction operations, generally within U.S. 

territorial waters. The Puerto Rico Police Department also deploys small 

boats for drug interdiction operations.23

Overall, from fiscal years 2009 through 2013, the amount of resources the 

Coast Guard provided to JIATF-S—including vessels, aircraft, and 

LEDETs—varied. During this period, the Coast Guard generally did not 

meet annual targets for its primary drug interdiction mission performance 

measure. Coast Guard officials cited the declining readiness of the Coast 

Guard’s aging major cutter fleet; delays in the delivery of new, more 

capable replacement cutters; and budget constraints, including 

sequestration, as key factors affecting the Coast Guard’s ability to meet 

its resource deployment and drug interdiction mission performance 

targets. Figure 2 shows the key resources the Coast Guard uses to 

support drug interdiction operations.

Figure 2: Coast Guard Resources Used to Support Drug Interdiction Operations

 

23Federal and local agencies involved in drug interdiction include the Department of 

Justice, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the National Guard, and local Puerto Rican 

and U.S. Virgin Islands law enforcement. 

The Coast Guard’s 

Resource 

Deployments for 

Transit Zone Drug 

Interdiction 

Operations Have 

Varied in Recent 

Years
 

Page 13 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

The Coast Guard’s deployment of vessels to JIATF-S to carry out drug 

interdiction operations in the transit zone varied during fiscal years 2009 

through 2012, and then sharply declined in 2013. Specifically, the Coast 

Guard’s coverage targets—the planned number of days major cutters 

(national security cutters, high endurance cutters, and medium endurance 

cutters) are to operate under JIATF-S tactical control throughout the 

year—have varied since fiscal year 2009, and the Coast Guard has not 

fully met them.24 For example, according to Coast Guard documents, in 

fiscal year 2009, the Coast Guard’s cutter coverage target was 2,555 

days (the equivalent of 7 major cutters under JIATF-S tactical control 

throughout the year) and the Coast Guard provided 2,036 days—about 

80 percent of its target. In fiscal year 2013, the cutter coverage target was 

2,008 days (or 5.5 major cutters) and the Coast Guard provided 1,346 

days—about 67 percent of its target. Overall, the Coast Guard met an 

average of 76 percent of its annual JIATF-S cutter coverage targets 

during fiscal years 2009 through 2013.25 Figure 3 compares the Coast 

Guard’s cutter coverage targets with the actual cutter days provided to 

JIATF-S for fiscal years 2009 through 2013.

 

24The Coast Guard sets coverage targets for the number of major cutters to be available 

to JIATF-S throughout a fiscal year. The coverage target, based on JIATF-S planning 

factors, is the number of vessels required to be underway in the assigned operating area 

throughout the year. 

25Coast Guard officials attributed the increase in JIATF-S cutter deployments in fiscal year 

2012 to additional resources provided to support Operation Martillo—a JIATF-S 

interagency surge operation targeting illicit smuggling routes in the coastal waters of 

Central America—as well as the increased availability of a high endurance cutter that year 

following its return to service after major repairs. According to the Coast Guard, the goal of 

Operation Martillo is to change the behavior of smuggling organizations by causing them 

to push farther offshore, where they are more vulnerable to detection and monitoring than 

they would be nearer land. 

The Coast Guard’s

Resource Deployments to 

JIATF-S Varied during 

Fiscal Years 2009 through 

2013

Vessels Deployed to JIATF-S
 

Page 14 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Figure 3: Coast Guard Cutter Day Coverage Targets Compared with Actual Cutter 

Days Provided to the Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-S), Fiscal Years 

2009 through 2013

The Coast Guard’s primary aircraft deployments to JIATF-S are longrange maritime patrol aircraft—generally the HC-130—to detect and 

monitor drug smuggling activity in the transit zone.26 The Coast Guard 

also deploys helicopters—generally modified MH-65s—with marksmen on 

board in what is known as airborne use of force.

27

 

26The Coast Guard’s HC-130 long-range surveillance aircraft provide heavy air transport 

and meet long-range maritime patrol requirements. In fiscal year 2012, the Coast Guard 

began limited deployments of HC-144A aircraft to JIATF-S. The HC-144A is a maritime 

patrol aircraft the Coast Guard uses for medium-range transport and surveillance 

operations. The aircraft is part of the Coast Guard’s acquisition program to replace its 

aging vessels and aircraft.

AUF-capable 

helicopters are deployed aboard major cutters and allied vessels to 

conduct short-range patrols and pursuit actions in the transit zone using 

marksmen who are trained to shoot out and disable the engines of fleeing 

27The MH-65 is an all-weather, short-range helicopter used for multiple missions, including 

Search and Rescue and Law Enforcement. The MH-65 is the primary Coast Guard aircraft 

used aboard major cutters during deployments. 

Aircraft Deployed to JIATF-S
 

Page 15 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

drug-smuggling vessels—a capability JIATF-S and Coast Guard officials 

cite as being critical to drug interdiction success.

Maritime patrol aircraft: According to Coast Guard data, the number of 

maritime patrol aircraft hours the Coast Guard provided to JIATF-S varied 

during fiscal years 2009 through 2012, ending with an overall decline in 

2013, although the numbers remained below target levels. As can be 

seen in figure 4, since fiscal year 2009, the Coast Guard’s annual 

maritime patrol aircraft hour allocation target (the number of hours the 

aircraft are to be under JIATF-S tactical control) has been 4,700 hours. 

According to Coast Guard data, the Coast Guard approached the target 

in fiscal year 2011, when the Coast Guard provided 4,416 resource 

hours—or about 94 percent of its target. Since 2011, though, the Coast 

Guard has reduced the number of maritime patrol aircraft hours that it has 

provided to JIATF-S. Coast Guard officials attributed this reduction to a 

smaller HC-130 fleet size and maintenance needs, including 

modifications to extend the HC-130s’ airframe life. In fiscal year 2013, the 

Coast Guard provided 3,506 maritime patrol aircraft resource hours—

roughly 75 percent of its targeted level.
 

Page 16 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Figure 4: Coast Guard Maritime Patrol Aircraft Hour Allocation Target Compared 

with Actual Aircraft Hours Provided to the Joint Interagency Task Force South 

(JIATF-S), Fiscal Years 2009 through 2013 

Airborne use of force: The Coast Guard measures its deployment of 

AUF to JIATF-S in the number of days AUF-capable helicopters are 

deployed under JIATF-S tactical control. Coast Guard data show the 

Coast Guard increased its AUF deployments to JIATF-S during fiscal 

years 2009 through 2012, before declining in 2013, while remaining below 

target levels. Specifically, the Coast Guard’s AUF deployments increased 

from 1,030 days in 2009 to 1,232 days in fiscal years 2012, before 

declining to 1,169 days in fiscal year 2013. According to Coast Guard 

data, in fiscal year 2013, the Coast Guard’s AUF deployment target was 

1,460 days and the Coast Guard provided 1,169 days—approximately 80 

percent of its AUF days target goal.28

 

28In fiscal year 2009, the Coast Guard’s AUF goal was 2,000 days. Since fiscal year 2010, 

the Coast Guard’s goal has been about 1,460 days. Coast Guard officials reported that 

this goal was reduced because of reduced availability of major cutters on which the AUF 

helicopters are deployed. 

Figure 5 shows the AUF 

deployment day targets compared with actual AUF days provided to 

JIATF-S during fiscal years 2009 through 2013.
 

Page 17 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Figure 5: Coast Guard Airborne Use-of-Force (AUF) Targets Compared with Actual 

AUF Days Provided to the Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S), Fiscal 

Years 2009 through 2013

Beyond vessels and aircraft, the Coast Guard provides JIATF-S with 

LEDETs—specially trained personnel who deploy primarily aboard U.S. 

Navy and allied vessels to conduct maritime law enforcement operations 

such as boarding suspect vessels and taking custody of suspected drug 

smugglers in the transit zone. The Coast Guard is the only JIATF-S 

resource provider that has law enforcement authority and LEDET 

personnel deployed in maritime areas far from U.S. waters.29

 

29The Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the Department of Defense from playing an active 

and direct role in civilian law enforcement except where authorized by the Constitution or 

an act of Congress. 18 U.S.C. §1385. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 provided that the 

Coast Guard is to assign personnel who are trained in law enforcement to appropriate 

surface naval vessels to perform law enforcement functions in drug interdiction areas. 10 

U.S.C. § 379.

By 

deploying LEDETs on Navy and allied vessels, JIATF-S increases the 

resources it has available for apprehending suspected drug smugglers, 

their contraband, and their vessels.

Deployments of Law 

Enforcement Detachments
 

Page 18 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

According to Coast Guard data, and as shown in figure 6, the Coast 

Guard’s deployment of LEDETs to JIATF-S (as measured in days) varied 

from fiscal years 2009 through 2013, but experienced an overall decline 

during this time period. The Coast Guard has not met its LEDET 

allocation target levels to JIATF-S since establishing targets in fiscal year 

2010. The Coast Guard provided its lowest LEDET allocation to JIATF-S 

in fiscal year 2013, when it provided 895 days, or just under half of its 

targeted level of 1,825 days. According to Coast Guard officials, the 

Coast Guard’s ability to deploy LEDETs to JIATF-S is largely dependent 

on the availability of Navy and allied vessels, as discussed later in this 

report.

Figure 6: Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) Allocation Targets 

Compared with Actual LEDET Days Provided to the Joint Interagency Task Force 

South (JIATF-S), Fiscal Years 2009 through 2013 

Note: The Coast Guard established its JIATF-S LEDET day target in fiscal year 2010.
 

Page 19 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

The Coast Guard has generally not met targets for its primary drug 

interdiction performance measure—removal rate for cocaine from 

noncommercial vessels in the maritime transit zone. According to Coast 

Guard officials, this measure focuses on transit zone drug operations 

because the Coast Guard’s drug interdiction mission priority is removing 

illicit drugs as close to their origins in South America and as far from U.S. 

shores as possible, where drug shipments are in their most concentrated 

bulk form. The measure assesses the percentage of cocaine directly 

seized or observed being jettisoned, scuttled, or destroyed as a result of 

Coast Guard actions relative to the total known flow of cocaine through 

the transit zone using noncommercial maritime vessels, as estimated in 

the CCDB. According to Coast Guard data, since establishing 

performance targets for this measure in fiscal year 2009,30 the Coast 

Guard met its target in 1 year—fiscal year 2013.31

 

30According to Coast Guard data, the Coast Guard has revised its annual performance 

target for this measure each year since 2009. Coast Guard officials reported that they 

revised the performance targets annually based on various factors, including asset 

availability, observed smuggling trends, and changes due to budget impacts that may 

affect mission performance. For example, the performance target in 2012 was 16.5 

percent, while in 2013 it was lowered to 14.1 percent. Coast Guard officials reported that 

they focus on setting drug interdiction mission performance targets that are ambitious, but 

realistic without presuming that targets can be attained in each year. 

In fiscal year 2013, the 

Coast Guard reported a cocaine removal rate of 15.3 percent in the 

transit zone, exceeding its performance target rate of 14.1 percent. Figure 

7 shows the Coast Guard’s performance in meeting this primary drug 

interdiction performance measure from fiscal years 2009 through 2013.

31ONDCP sets a National Interdiction Goal that represents the U.S. government-wide 

target for cocaine removal from noncommercial maritime vessels in the transit zone as a 

result of the collective efforts of all U.S. agencies and allies, including the Coast Guard. 

For example, according to JIATF-S officials, in fiscal year 2012, the national interdiction 

goal was 36 percent, and the rate achieved by U.S. government agencies and partners 

was roughly 28 percent. The Coast Guard’s cocaine removal rate targets and 

performance show the share of cocaine removed specifically through Coast Guard 

actions.

The Coast Guard Has 

Generally Not Met Its Drug 

Interdiction Mission 

Performance Targets 

because of Various 

Factors

Drug Interdiction Mission 

Performance Targets
 

Page 20 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Figure 7: Coast Guard Cocaine Removal Rate Targets Compared to Actual Cocaine 

Removal Rates in the Transit Zone, Fiscal Years 2009 through 2013

Note: According to Department of Homeland Security and Office of National Drug Control Policy 

officials, estimates of the amount of cocaine that enters the United States are based on intelligence 

and other information that may not reflect the actual flow of cocaine toward the United States.

Coast Guard officials reported that meeting its drug interdiction mission 

performance target in fiscal year 2013 may not reflect the Coast Guard’s 

improved performance; rather they noted it is likely a product of greatly 

reduced awareness of the estimated drug flow in the transit zone for that 

year. For example, in fiscal year 2009, the estimated noncommercial 

maritime flow of cocaine in the transit zone was 1,067 metric tons, 

whereas in fiscal year 2013, it was estimated at 644 metric tons—a 

roughly 40 percent decline from 2009. Coast Guard officials reported that 

the lower drug flow estimate for fiscal year 2013 was likely not the result 

of a reduced level of drug flows toward the United States, but rather the 

underreporting of the drug flow as a result of three primary factors: (1) 

reduced vessel and aircraft presence in the transit zone gathering 

information and intelligence on drug-smuggling activity, (2) less 

information about the potential movements of drug smugglers as a result 
 

Page 21 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

of fewer prosecutions, and (3) smugglers shifting routes to areas with 

reduced JIATF-S presence.32

The Coast Guard reported that a variety of factors have limited its drug 

interdiction mission performance.

As a result, according to Coast Guard 

officials, the Coast Guard’s cocaine removal rate performance in fiscal 

year 2013 appeared more successful than it likely would have been if 

better information on total cocaine flow had been available. Coast Guard 

officials reported that the Coast Guard views the cocaine removal rate as 

the most effective measure to determine success in the drug interdiction 

mission. The officials added that the cocaine removal rate performance in 

fiscal year 2013 may have been an anomaly and noted the Coast Guard 

will reassess the utility of this measure once future-year performance data 

are available.

Declining readiness of Coast Guard legacy vessels and delays in 

receiving replacement vessels: Coast Guard officials cited reduced 

availability and reliability of its legacy vessels as its primary challenge to 

combating drug flow in the transit zone and meeting its JIATF-S 

commitments.33

 

32According to Department of Justice officials, information obtained during criminal 

prosecutions of drug smugglers provides valuable information on drug-smuggling 

activities. 

In particular, the Coast Guard reported that the legacy 

high and medium endurance cutters it deploys to JIATF-S have become 

increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain and operate. We have 

previously reported on challenges that the Coast Guard faced in 

33We use the term “legacy vessels” to refer to four legacy vessel classes, including the 

378-foot high endurance cutters, the 210-foot and 270-foot medium endurance cutters, 

and the 110-foot patrol boats. For more information on the challenges the Coast Guard 

faces in the declining condition of its legacy vessel fleet, see GAO, Coast Guard: Legacy 

Vessels’ Declining Conditions Reinforce Need for More Realistic Operational Targets.

GAO-12-741 (Washington, D.C.: July 31, 2012).

Factors Limiting the Coast 

Guard’s Drug Interdiction 

Performance
 

Page 22 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

operating its legacy vessel fleet.34

While the Coast Guard reports that its acquisition of new vessels to 

replace its legacy vessels will benefit the Coast Guard and enhance its 

operational performance in the long term, Coast Guard officials cited 

delays in the acquisition of new cutters as a challenge to meeting its drug 

interdiction commitments. Specifically, the Coast Guard is in the midst of 

a $32 billion acquisition effort to replace its aging cutters and aircraft with 

modernized and more capable assets.

Among other challenges, we found that 

the Coast Guard had lost a considerable number of planned operational 

days because of unscheduled maintenance. For example, in 2012, we 

reported that, according to Coast Guard data, in 2011, there were 654 

days in which the Coast Guard’s high and medium endurance cutters had 

planned operational days but were unavailable to conduct operations 

typically because of unscheduled maintenance.

35

 

34See 

However, since beginning the 

program in 1996, the Coast Guard has experienced problems in the areas 

of costs, management, and oversight that have led to considerable delays 

in the delivery of the replacement assets. For example, in 2012, we 

reported that according to 2007 program baselines, the planned delivery 

of replacement vessels for the Coast Guard’s medium endurance cutters 

had been delayed by 13 years. Thus, the Coast Guard has had to 

GAO-12-741. In this report, we found that the Coast Guard’s legacy vessel fleet 

operational hour targets were not realistic. For example, we found that the Coast Guard’s 

high endurance and medium endurance cutters generally did not meet operational hour 

targets from fiscal years 2005 through 2011. Coast Guard officials reported that they used 

operational hour targets to inform planning decisions, such as setting performance targets. 

However, the Coast Guard had not revised operational targets to reflect the reduced cutter 

performance. We recommended that DHS direct the Commandant of the Coast Guard to 

adjust legacy vessel fleet operational hour targets to reflect actual capacity, as appropriate 

by class. DHS did not concur with our recommendation. DHS stated that the Coast Guard 

has already taken actions to meet the maintenance challenges associated with its aging 

vessel fleet and strives to meet the annual operational targets associated with those 

vessels and that reducing the operational hour targets would fail to fully utilize those 

assets not impacted by maintenance issues. We disagree because, among other things, 

the Coast Guard’s operational decisions are being made on the assumption that legacy 

vessels will achieve 100 percent of their operational hour targets and the Coast Guard has 

adjusted legacy vessel operational hour targets in the past. We continue to believe that 

this recommendation has merit and should be fully implemented. 

35The Coast Guard’s asset recapitalization plan includes projects to build or modernize 

five classes each of vessels and aircraft, and procurement of other capabilities, such as 

improved command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and 

reconnaissance. This includes replacing the Coast Guard’s high and medium endurance 

cutters and its 110-foot patrol boats. See a list of GAO reports related to the Coast 

Guard’s recapitalization program at the end of this report. 
 

Page 23 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

manage increased maintenance challenges that have reduced the 

availability of its medium endurance cutters, while the replacement 

vessels will not be available for far longer than initially planned. Coast 

Guard officials also reported that the Coast Guard has lost operational 

capacity as it has decommissioned high endurance cutters at a faster rate 

than it has commissioned replacement national security cutters. Coast 

Guard officials said that this has contributed to an overall decline of 

available vessel resource hours for the Coast Guard in recent years and, 

in particular, for the Coast Guard’s drug interdiction mission in the 

Eastern Pacific, where the legacy high endurance cutters are deployed.36

In addition to replacing its aging high endurance cutters, the Coast Guard 

has also taken actions in recent years to improve the condition of its 

legacy cutters, including its fleet of medium endurance cutters—which 

have accounted for the majority of the vessels the Coast Guard has 

provided to support JIATF-S drug interdiction operations in the transit 

zone. According to Coast Guard officials, during fiscal years 2009 through 

2013, its fleet of 27 medium endurance cutters has been undergoing an 

extended maintenance project to improve their capabilities and 

readiness.37

Budget constraints and sequestration: Coast Guard officials reported 

that budget constraints in recent years, including the fiscal year 2013 

sequestration, required the Coast Guard to decrease its JIATF-S drug 

interdiction deployments. To meet sequestration guidance, the Coast 

Guard officials reported reducing overall resource commitments by 25 

percent in fiscal year 2013. As part of this, Coast Guard officials reported 

that during sequestration, the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area Command 

reduced maximum days away from homeport of its high endurance 

While the Coast Guard expects this project to enhance the 

vessels’ condition and improve their operational readiness, taking the 

vessels out of service for extended repairs reduced their operational 

availability.

 

36The Coast Guard has commissioned three NSCs since fiscal year 2009 and 

decommissioned five HECs since fiscal year 2011. Coast Guard officials reported that 

each NSC is to provide greater operational capacity than that provided by the HECs, 

including improved communications and abilities to deploy aircraft and small boats for 

drug interdiction operations. 

37The Coast Guard reported that total costs for the medium endurance cutter maintenance 

project are projected to be roughly $280 million. According to Coast Guard officials, this 

project is scheduled to be completed in fiscal year 2014. 
 

Page 24 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

cutters by half—from 185 days to 90 days—to reduce operating costs. 

According to JIATF-S officials, the Coast Guard’s reduced high 

endurance cutter availability limited the capacity of JIATF-S to conduct 

drug interdiction operations in the Eastern Pacific—the major drug flow 

transit route.

Reduced number of Navy vessels for deploying LEDETs: The Coast 

Guard’s ability to deploy LEDETs to JIATF-S depends on the availability 

of vessels from the Navy and allied partners on which the LEDETs can 

operate. Coast Guard officials attributed the decreased LEDET 

deployments to the reduced number of vessels the Navy has provided to 

support JIATF-S in recent years—particularly during sequestration in 

fiscal year 2013. For example, according to JIATF-S data, the Navy 

provided JIATF-S with 429 vessel days in fiscal year 2013—less than half 

of its average annual JIATF-S deployment during fiscal years 2009 

through 2012. As a result, the Coast Guard had limited opportunities to 

deploy available LEDETs—which JIATF-S relies on to maximize the 

capacity of its force for drug interdiction and apprehension efforts.

Responding to unexpected contingencies: Coast Guard officials 

reported that the need to respond to unexpected contingencies reduced 

the availability of resources for drug interdiction operations. For example, 

Coast Guard’s responses to natural and man-made disasters—such as 

the Haiti earthquake in January 2010 and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill 

in April 2010—led the Coast Guard to redeploy medium endurance 

cutters, maritime patrol aircraft, and helicopters that otherwise may have 

been used to support JIATF-S operations.
 

Page 25 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

The Coast Guard is supporting a DHS-wide effort to combat the growing 

level of violence associated with drug trafficking in Puerto Rico and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands. Specifically, in September 2012, DHS implemented 

Operation Caribbean Guard to address violence and drug trafficking into 

and within Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.38

Under Operation Unified Resolve, the Coast Guard has placed special 

emphasis on targeting the primary and secondary flow of illicit drugs from 

South America to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. According to 

Sector San Juan officials, a key challenge for the Coast Guard is the 

relatively short distance between the Dominican Republic and Puerto 

The Coast Guard’s 

role in this DHS-wide effort has been to increase vessel and aircraft 

operations to interdict the flow of drugs being trafficked by noncommercial 

maritime vessels toward the islands. Since September 2012, the Coast 

Guard’s Seventh District has implemented a surge operation, known as 

Operation Unified Resolve, which has provided Sector San Juan—the 

Coast Guard field unit whose area of responsibility includes Puerto Rico 

and the U.S. Virgin Islands—with additional vessels and aircraft to 

regularly patrol Puerto Rico and the eastern approaches of the U.S. Virgin 

Islands. Operation Unified Resolve initially began as a surge operation, 

but in October 2013, the Coast Guard made the surge operation a 

standing operation—and, according to Coast Guard officials, established 

a new baseline for drug interdiction operations in support of Puerto Rico 

and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

 

38DHS agencies involved in Operation Caribbean Guard include the Coast Guard, CBP, 

and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. App. II provides further information on 

Operation Caribbean Guard and the various DHS component agencies involved. 

The Coast Guard Has 

Supported Counterdrug Efforts in Puerto 

Rico and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands with 

Increased Asset 

Deployments

The Coast Guard 

Supports DHS Efforts to 

Combat Drug Smuggling 

in Puerto Rico and the 

U.S. Virgin Islands
 

Page 26 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Rico. For example, officials noted that it would take approximately 4 hours 

for a go-fast vessel to transit the 70 to 80 miles between the Dominican 

Republic and Puerto Rico. Coast Guard officials reported that this places 

a premium on the need for good intelligence on potential drug-smuggling 

vessels and the effective placement of assets to interdict them.

According to Coast Guard officials, the Coast Guard’s decision to provide 

additional resources to Sector San Juan resulted from Coast Guard 

analyses that found Sector San Juan lacked sufficient vessels and aircraft 

to reduce maritime drug smuggling into Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands. For example, according to an August 2012 Coast Guard 

memorandum, Sector San Juan’s fleet of vessels faced readiness 

concerns and lacked the capability to effectively conduct operations 

against the primary drug flow of go-fast boats smuggling illicit drugs from 

South America into Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Further, the 

memorandum notes that the Coast Guard did not have maritime patrol 

aircraft permanently assigned to the territories. According to the 

memorandum, the only permanently assigned Coast Guard aircraft in 

Puerto Rico were helicopters based in the northwest corner of the island 

and their endurance and position made them impractical for patrolling the 

eastern approaches to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Coast Guard officials reported that the Coast Guard has not received 

additional resources to support Operation Unified Resolve. Rather, to 

implement the operation, the Coast Guard reported that it supplemented 

its annual allocation of vessels and aircraft to Sector San Juan by 

reallocating medium endurance cutters and maritime patrol aircraft to 

Puerto Rico from other locations within the Coast Guard—largely from the 

Coast Guard’s Seventh District.39

 

39In particular, according to Coast Guard officials, under Operation Unified Resolve, the 

Coast Guard has deployed HC-144A maritime patrol aircraft, medium endurance cutters, 

a 110-foot patrol boat, and two law enforcement pursuit boat crews to Sector San Juan.

According to Coast Guard officials, 

these vessels and aircraft, in general, had previously been allocated for 

alien migrant interdiction operations. As noted earlier and as further 

described in appendix I, the Coast Guard’s process for allocating drug 

interdiction resources is focused on meeting commitments for strategic 

priorities, such as JIATF-S transit zone operations, first, before dividing 

up its remaining resources among its field locations such as Sector San 

Juan. In this way, the Coast Guard reported that the additional resources 
 

Page 27 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

provided for Operation Unified Resolve did not come at the expense of its 

JIATF-S deployments.

Beyond Operation Unified Resolve, the Coast Guard is scheduled to 

modernize Sector San Juan’s vessel fleet. According to Coast Guard 

officials, during fiscal years 2015 and 2016, the Coast Guard plans to 

replace Sector San Juan’s six 110-foot patrol boats with six new 154-foot 

fast response cutters (FRC).40 According to Coast Guard officials, the 

FRCs’ impact on the drug interdiction mission will be significant, as the 

FRC is expected to provide (1) increased interdiction capabilities; (2) 

improved sea keeping; (3) greater endurance; (4) the ability to deploy a 

pursuit-capable small boat; (5) improved weapons systems; and (6) 

improved command, control, and communications systems. Coast Guard 

officials reported that Sector San Juan would accommodate a mix of the 

new FRCs and 110-foot patrol boats until the 110-foot patrol boats are 

phased out by the end of fiscal year 2016. According to senior officials 

from Sector San Juan, the additional resources Sector San Juan is 

utilizing for Operation Unified Resolve, along with the scheduled arrival of 

the six FRCs by the end of 2016, will put Sector San Juan in a better 

position to meet its mission needs.

According to Coast Guard data, the total amount of vessel hours in 

support of drug interdiction operations in the Sector San Juan area of 

responsibility more than tripled in recent years—from 2,051 hours in fiscal 

 

40The Coast Guard is replacing all of its 110-foot patrol boats with FRCs. According to 

Coast Guard officials, as of April 2014, the Coast Guard has homeported six FRCs at 

Sector Miami and has received three of six planned FRCs that will be homeported at 

Sector Key West. Sector San Juan is to receive its FRCs after Sector Key West has 

received its six FRCs. 

The Coast Guard Has 

Deployed More Resources 

for Drug Interdiction in 

Puerto Rico and the U.S. 

Virgin Islands in Recent 

Years

Vessel Deployments Have 

Increased
 

Page 28 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

year 2009 to 6,839 hours in fiscal year 2013.41 According to the data, 

much of the increase in vessel drug interdiction operational hours 

occurred from fiscal years 2012 through 2013, when the Coast Guard 

was implementing Operation Unified Resolve. Coast Guard data show 

that medium endurance cutters accounted for a rising share of the drug 

interdiction vessel operational hours, increasing from 3 percent in fiscal 

year 2011 to 28 percent in fiscal year 2013. In fiscal year 2013, drug 

interdiction operations accounted for 40 percent of reported medium 

endurance cutter and patrol boat hours in the Sector San Juan area of 

responsibility.42

Figure 8 shows the total vessel hours (major cutter and patrol boat hours) 

the Coast Guard reported for conducting drug interdiction operations in 

the Sector San Juan area of responsibility during fiscal years 2009 

through 2013, as well as, the relative share of the vessel hours provided 

by Sector San Juan and other Coast Guard locations.

According to Coast Guard officials, the number of vessel 

operational hours in support of the drug interdiction mission has risen 

since 2009 in response to increased drug-smuggling events and the 

additional resources provided for Operation Unified Resolve beginning in 

late fiscal year 2012.

 

41Coast Guard officials reported that these vessel hours represent the Coast Guard’s total 

deployment of vessels conducting drug interdiction operations in the Sector San Juan 

area of responsibility. Coast Guard officials reported these hours included total 

deployments by the Atlantic Area Command, Seventh District, and Sector San Juan of 

medium endurance cutters and patrol boats (including 110-foot patrol boats, 154-foot 

FRCs, and 87-foot patrol boats). 

42Coast Guard officials noted that cutters could be used to conduct several of the Coast 

Guard’s 11 missions concurrently, such as Drug Interdiction, Search and Rescue, and 

Migrant Interdiction. According to Coast Guard data, in fiscal year 2013, patrol boats and 

medium endurance cutters expended 17,093 hours conducting various missions in the 

Sector San Juan area of responsibility. Of this total, 6,839 hours were spent for the drug 

interdiction mission. 
 

Page 29 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Figure 8: Coast Guard Vessel Hours Conducting Drug Interdiction Mission 

Operations in the Sector San Juan Area of Responsibility, Fiscal Years 2009 

through 2013

Note: According to Coast Guard officials, vessel hours include those of medium endurance cutters, 

154-foot fast response cutters, 110-foot patrol boats, and 87-foot patrol boats.

According to Coast Guard data, maritime patrol aircraft resource hours 

reported for drug interdiction operations in the Sector San Juan area of 

responsibility declined during fiscal years 2009 through 2011, before 

increasing considerably in fiscal years 2012 and 2013. For example, in 

fiscal year 2011, the Coast Guard reported conducting 148 flight hours 

patrolling Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and this number more 

than tripled to 502 hours in fiscal year 2012 before doubling to 1,000 

hours in fiscal year 2013. The Coast Guard attributes this considerable 

increase of flight hours in recent years to increased aircraft provided in 

support of Operation Unified Resolve. Since implementing Operation 

Unified Resolve in September 2012, the Coast Guard has conducted 

surveillance patrols of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands using 

maritime patrol aircraft and crews forward deployed from Coast Guard 

field locations in the continental United States. Figure 9 shows the Coast 

Guard’s maritime patrol aircraft hours in support of drug interdiction 

operations in the Sector San Juan area of responsibility during fiscal 

years 2009 through 2013.

Aircraft Deployments Have 

Recently Increased
 

Page 30 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Figure 9: Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) Hours Reported for Drug Interdiction 

Operations in the Sector San Juan Area of Responsibility, Fiscal Years 2009 

through 2013

Coast Guard officials reported that the additional resources the Coast 

Guard provided for Operation Unified Resolve have led to increasing 

interdictions of illicit drugs being smuggled in and around Puerto Rico and 

the U.S. Virgin Islands. According to Coast Guard officials, as of March 

25, 2014, Operation Unified Resolve had led to the removal of 32,669 

kilograms of cocaine and roughly 11,000 pounds of marijuana. Further, 

Coast Guard officials reported that since deploying additional vessels and 

aircraft for Operation Unified Resolve in September 2012, the Coast 

Guard found the estimated primary flow of cocaine into Puerto Rico to be 

considerably higher than previously thought. For example, according to 

CCDB data provided by the Coast Guard, the estimated noncommercial 

maritime primary flow of cocaine toward Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin 

Islands more than doubled, from 7.1 metric tons in fiscal year 2012 to 
 

Page 31 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

14.9 metric tons in fiscal year 2013.43

Table 1: Estimated Primary and Secondary Cocaine Flow by Noncommercial 

Maritime Vessels to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Fiscal Years 2009 

through 2013

Table 1 shows estimated primary 

and secondary noncommercial maritime drug flow toward Puerto Rico 

and the U.S. Virgin Islands during fiscal years 2009 through 2013.

Flow to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

 Primary 

(direct from South America)

Secondary 

(via the Dominican Republic) 

Fiscal year

Cocaine flow 

(metric tons)

Cocaine flow 

(metric tons)

2009 1.5 4.9

2010 4.7 2 

2011 3.2 8 

2012 7.1 8.7

2013 14.9 2.4

Source: GAO analysis of Coast Guard data. | GAO-14-527

Note: According Department of Homeland Security and Office of National Drug Control Policy 

officials, estimates of the amount of cocaine that enters the United States are based on intelligence 

and other information that may not reflect the actual flow of cocaine toward the United States.

We are not making recommendations in this report. We provided a draft 

of this report to DHS, the Department of Justice, ONDCP, and JIATF-S 

for review and comment. We received technical comments that we have 

incorporated, as appropriate.

We are sending copies of this report to the Secretary of Homeland 

Security, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, and appropriate 

congressional committees. In addition, this report is available at no 

charge on GAO’s web-site at http://gao.gov. 

 

43According to a senior DHS official, the rising estimates of cocaine flow toward Puerto 

Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands during fiscal years 2012 and 2013 may be a product of 

the greater awareness resulting from increased vessel and aircraft deployments under 

Operation Unified Resolve rather than greater drug-smuggling activity itself. For example, 

as noted earlier, the estimated drug flow in the transit zone overall has declined since 

2009; however, CCDB estimates show that within the transit zone drug flow in the eastern 

and central Caribbean transit routes—areas that have been the focus of Coast Guard drug 

interdiction operations since fiscal year 2012—has risen. 

Agency Comments 
 

Page 32 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact 

me at (202) 512-9610 or caldwells@gao.gov. Contact points for our 

Offices of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on 

the last page of this report. Staff acknowledgments are provided in 

appendix III.

Stephen L. Caldwell

Director, Homeland Security and Justice Issues
 

Page 33 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

This appendix provides a summary of the Coast Guard’s process for 

allocating vessels, aircraft, and other resources for its drug interdiction 

mission. The Coast Guard’s process for allocating drug interdiction 

resources is focused on meeting commitments for strategic priorities, 

including for the Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-S)—a 

reporting unit of the Department of Defense’s Southern Command that 

oversees detection and monitoring operations of drug-smuggling events 

in the transit zone. The Coast Guard allocates drug interdiction resources 

for these strategic priorities, first, before dividing up its remaining 

resources among its Atlantic and Pacific Area Commands for further 

allocation to Coast Guard districts and sectors across the United States.1

The Coast Guard determines the targets for the amount of time selected 

vessels, aircraft, and law enforcement detachments (LEDET) are 

provided to JIATF-S for transit zone operations—through an annual 

operational planning process that considers factors including resource 

requirements for strategic priorities, evolving maritime risks, and the 

availability of vessels and aircraft. Through this process, the Coast Guard 

reviews JIATF-S resource requests and sets resource targets. The Coast 

Guard then allocates the remaining resources among its field locations 

across the United States for implementing 11 missions, including drug 

interdiction.2

In general, the Coast Guard’s annual drug interdiction resource allocation 

planning process includes four steps.

• First, JIATF-S submits its resource allocation requirements for 

meeting National Drug Control Strategy targets to the Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Defense as directed

 

1

The Atlantic and Pacific Area Commands are responsible for Coast Guard operations, 

and develop and implement operational objectives for Coast Guard missions, including 

developing schedules for icebreakers, major cutters, long-range surveillance aircraft, and 

deployable specialized forces. District commands are responsible for regional operations 

and assume tactical control of allocated assets, including patrol boats, and air stations that 

deploy maritime patrol aircraft and helicopters. Sector commands are responsible for 

subregional and local operations within each district. They assume tactical control of 

allocated assets and executing operations in their area of responsibility through tasking of 

these assets.

2

The Coast Guard’s 11 missions include: Search and Rescue; Maritime Safety; Ports, 

Waterways, and Coastal Security; Drug Interdiction; Migrant Interdiction; Defense 

Readiness; Ice Operations; Aids to Navigation and Waterways Management; Marine 

Environmental Protection; Living Marine Resources; and Other Law Enforcement. 

Appendix I: The Coast Guard’s Process for 

Allocating Drug Interdiction Resources
 

Page 34 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

by the National Interdiction Command and Control Plan.3 These 

requirements specify the capabilities (types of vessels or aircraft) and 

corresponding capacities (number of days for vessels or resource 

hours for aircraft). The DHS Office of Policy’s Counter Illicit Trafficking 

Section communicates the resource requests to the Coast Guard with 

resource hour requests for Coast Guard cutters, boats, aircraft, and 

LEDETs.4

• Second, Coast Guard planners determine the amount of resources 

that the Coast Guard intends to provide in the upcoming fiscal year. 

The Coast Guard considers its support for JIATF-S drug interdiction 

operations as one of three strategic commitment priorities.5

• Third, the Coast Guard provides its JIATF-S resource target—or 

Statement of Intent—to the DHS Office of Counter Illicit Trafficking, 

which liaises with JIATF-S and the Office of National Drug Control 

Policy (ONDCP). The Statement of Intent details target levels of 

resources the Coast Guard intends to provide to JIATF-S for the next 

fiscal year. The Statement of Intent outlines asset availability level 

targets for major cutters, maritime patrol aircraft, and other resources, 

such as deployable forces. DHS then combines the Coast Guard 

Statement of Intent with those of Customs and Border Protection 

(CBP) and submits an overall DHS Statement of Intent to ONDCP and 

JIATF-S.

In this 

way, Coast Guard planners determine the number of vessel days and 

aircraft hours to provide to JIATF-S before allocating remaining 

vessels and aircraft to its field locations across the United States for 

other missions (as described in more detail below). The Coast Guard 

determines its JIATF-S resource targets based on various factors, 

including strategic priority and resource availability.

• Fourth, after allocating resources for JIATF-S and other strategic 

commitments, the Coast Guard divides its remaining resource hours 

 

3

The National Interdiction Command and Control Plan sets the overarching operational 

structure for agencies involved in drug interdiction.

4

Small boats are vessels that may be used for pursuing drug smuggling vessels. Boats 

may be shore based or deployed on board major cutters which launch the vessels with 

armed crews. 

5

Other strategic commitment priorities are for Arctic mission operations and Department of 

Defense related operations. 
 

Page 35 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

for vessels and aircraft between its Pacific and Atlantic Area 

Commands. Coast Guard officials reported that the Coast Guard’s 

field units use a greater variety of vessels for coastal drug interdiction 

operations than provided to JIATF-S. These generally include the 

110-foot patrol boats in addition to a variety of smaller boats. For 

example, whereas the Coast Guard generally provides major cutters 

to JIATF-S, field units rely on a greater variety of smaller vessels to 

conduct coastal drug interdiction operations because the missions are 

conducted much closer to shore than are JIATF-S operations.6

Outside of JIATF-S, the Coast Guard’s Seventh District (headquartered in 

Miami, Florida, and having responsibility for the Caribbean area including 

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and Eleventh District 

(headquartered in Alameda, California, and having responsibility for the 

Eastern Pacific area, including coastal areas from the U.S.-Mexico border 

to South America) have accounted for the largest shares of the Coast 

Guard’s drug interdiction resource hours. According to Coast Guard 

officials, these districts’ areas of responsibility include high drug-trafficking 

areas, and therefore drug interdiction accounts for a larger mission focus 

than at other Coast Guard districts.

From fiscal years 2009 through 2013, the Coast Guard’s budget included 

about $1.2 billion per year for its drug interdiction mission. This mission 

accounted for between 10 and 12 percent of the Coast Guard’s budget 

during this time. The Coast Guard reported, based on the enacted fiscal 

year 2014 budget, that its fiscal year 2014 estimate to perform the drug 

interdiction mission is $1,305,271,000. Figure 10 shows the flow of the 

Coast Guard drug interdiction resource allocation process.

 

6

According to JIATF-S officials, JIATF-S has a standing requirement in the ONDCP 

Statement of Intent for short-range ships, which include 110-foot patrol boats. According 

to Coast Guard data, the Coast Guard deployed 110-foot patrol boats to support JIATF-S 

in fiscal years 2009 and 2012.
 

Page 36 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Figure 10: Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Resource Allocation Process Flow
 

Page 37 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

This appendix identifies and describes the Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS) component agencies involved in Operation Caribbean 

Guard. In September 2012, DHS implemented Operation Caribbean 

Guard to intercept illegal weapons, drugs, and money flowing to and from 

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Operation Caribbean Guard is a 

DHS-wide surge effort involving multiple component agencies. Table 2 

identifies DHS component agencies involved in Operation Caribbean 

Guard and reported examples of actions they have taken.

Table 2: Department of Homeland Security Components Participating in Operation Caribbean Guard and Examples of Actions 

Reported Taken

DHS component Actions taken under Operation Caribbean Guard 

Coast Guard Since September 2012, the Coast Guard has increased its deployments of vessels and 

aircraft for conducting drug interdiction patrols in the Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands 

area. 

Customs and Border Protection Initiated operations to intercept illegal weapons, drugs and money, including the following:

• Increased assets and collection of intelligence along the south coast of Puerto Rico, 

including more frequent maritime patrol aircraft deployments.

• Intensified seal integrity checks and inspection of containerized cargo arriving from 

the Dominican Republic.

• Deployed assets into areas where its operations were conducted on a limited basis to 

increase presence and collect information. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement 

(ICE) 

The ICE Homeland Security Investigation San Juan office brought together over 120 

multiagency (federal, state and local) law enforcement officers to proactively conduct 

enforcement operations in the most crime-ridden areas of San Juan. According to DHS 

officials, the initiative led to the arrest of 890 violent criminals and the seizure of over 450 

pounds of narcotics, $543,000 in U.S currency, 650 illegal weapons and over 40,000 

rounds of ammunition.

Transportation Security Administration Intensified searches of luggage, parcels, and freight transported on flights from Puerto 

Rico destined to the continental United States. 

Source: GAO analysis of data provided by Department of Homeland Security components. | GAO-14-527

Appendix II: Operation Caribbean Guard
 

Page 38 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Stephen L. Caldwell, Director (202) 512-9610

In addition to the contact named above, Christopher Conrad (Assistant 

Director), Jason Berman, Michele Fejfar, Eric Hauswirth, Susan Hsu, 

Tracey King, and Lerone Reid made key contributions to this report.

Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments

GAO Contact

Acknowledgments
 

Page 39 GAO-14-527 Coast Guard Drug Interdiction Operations

Coast Guard: Observations on Progress Made and Challenges Faced in 

Developing and Implementing a Common Operational Picture.

GAO-13-784T. Washington, D.C.: July 31, 2013.

Coast Guard: Clarifying the Application of Guidance for Common 

Operational Picture Development Would Strengthen Program.

GAO-13-321. Washington, D.C.: April 25, 2013.

International Affairs: Status of Funding, Equipment, and Training for the 

Caribbean Basin Security Initiative. GAO-13-367R. Washington, D.C.: 

March 20, 2013

Coast Guard: Portfolio Management Approach Needed to Improve Major 

Acquisition Outcomes. GAO-12-918. Washington, D.C.: September 20, 

2012.

Coast Guard: Legacy Vessels’ Declining Conditions Reinforce Need for 

More Realistic Operational Targets. GAO-12-741. Washington, D.C.: July 

31, 2012.

Observations on the Coast Guard’s and the Department of Homeland 

Security’s Fleet Studies. GAO-12-751R. Washington, D.C.: May 31, 2012.

Coast Guard: Action Needed as Approved Deepwater Program Remains 

Unachievable. GAO-11-743. Washington, D.C.: July 28, 2011.

Coast Guard: Deepwater Requirements, Quantities, and Cost Require 

Revalidation to Reflect Knowledge Gained. GAO-10-790. Washington, 

D.C.: July 27, 2010.

Drug Control: Cooperation with Many Major Drug Transit Countries Has 

Improved, but Better Performance Reporting and Sustainability Plans Are 

Needed. GAO-08-784. Washington, D.C.: July 15, 2008.

Drug Control: Agencies Need to Plan for Likely Declines in Drug 

Interdiction Assets, and Develop Better Performance Measures for 

Transit Zone Operations. GAO-06-200. Washington, D.C.: November 15, 

2005.

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