This basic strategy has been used in some of the most successful operations in recent years. For example, six different nations contributed their people and resources to Operation Millennium, which resulted in the arrest of 31 individuals last October. Included among the arrested were Fabio, Ochoa and Alejandro Bernal, two of the most powerful cocaine traffickers in the world. This was a great victory for us all, and particularly for the Colombian National Police. More and more, we are entering an era of cooperative investigation, when the efforts in one country complement those in another country.
Millennium is a textbook example of how international law enforcement organizations can cooperate.
The DEA and many other law enforcement agencies in this hemisphere have worked together in such areas as bilateral investigations, intelligence gathering, institution building, and training. In Operation Millennium, this cooperation paid off. It sent a message to drug traffickers everywhere that freer trade and cutting edge technologies may make drug trafficking easier, but not safer. If you're trafficking in drugs anywhere in the world, the world's law enforcement agencies will find you and we'll arrest you. And in many cases, not only will we arrest you, but we will seize the assets you acquired through your illegal business.