Cocaine Trafficking: Caribbean Corridor Resurgence

The Caribbean basin has reasserted itself as a primary transit corridor for Colombian and Venezuelan cocaine bound for the United States and Europe. Colombia seized 445.9 tons of cocaine in 2025, a 59.4% increase over 2024, reflecting both increased production and enhanced interdiction capacity. The volume of cocaine transiting Caribbean waters continues to exceed interception capability by a significant margin.

On 28 April 2026, the DEA Caribbean Division and Homeland Security Task Force partners interdicted a 30-foot "yola"-type boat 35 nautical miles southeast of Puerto Rico, seizing 1,418 pounds (643 kg) of cocaine concealed in modified fuel containers and arresting three Venezuelan nationals. The use of Venezuelan crews on trafficking vessels reflects the deepening nexus between Venezuelan criminal networks and Caribbean cocaine logistics.

In January 2026, OFAC designated Luis Manuel Picado Grijalba ("Shock"), one of the Caribbean's most prolific traffickers, along with five associates and five entities for moving multi-ton cocaine shipments from Colombia through Costa Rica to the US and Europe. Picado Grijalba was arrested in the United Kingdom in December 2024 and awaits extradition to the United States.

Operation Southern Spear

Operation Southern Spear, launched September 2025 under US Southern Command, represents a significant escalation in US counter-narcotics posture. The operation has conducted at least 47 strikes on suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, with over 190 persons killed. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group operated in the Caribbean for over 100 days in support of the operation. JIATF-South continues multilateral coordination with liaison officers from 20 countries.

On 9 May 2026, a US strike in the Eastern Pacific killed 2 persons with 1 survivor. The Pentagon Inspector General opened an evaluation of the operations on 19 May 2026 amid Congressional scrutiny over the legal framework, rules of engagement, and the absence of publicly available evidence confirming that targeted vessels were carrying narcotics. The use of lethal force against suspected trafficking vessels without prior interdiction and search represents a significant departure from traditional counter-narcotics law enforcement approaches and raises unresolved questions under international maritime law.

Gang Violence: Jamaica

Jamaica recorded fewer than 700 murders in 2025 for the first time in over 30 years, a significant milestone attributed to sustained security operations. The government declared states of emergency nine times across five parishes and targeted police divisions in Kingston and Saint Andrew. An estimated 250 gangs operate across the island, with territorial control over communities and extortion of commercial activity remaining endemic.

Research from ACLED and Cambridge University indicates that SOEs temporarily suppress violence within declared zones but frequently displace it to adjacent areas, raising questions about whether aggregate crime reduction or geographic redistribution is the primary outcome. The sustainability of gains absent structural reform — in employment, education, and community intervention — remains the central analytical question for Jamaica's security trajectory.

Gang Violence: Trinidad and Tobago

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar declared a State of Public Emergency on 3 March 2026, citing a surge in gang violence and credible intelligence of planned attacks on prison officers, police, and members of the legal services. The SOE was extended for three additional months on 14 March, with 373 persons detained under emergency provisions.

January 2026 recorded 33 murders — a 55% reduction from January 2025 and the lowest January figure since 2001. As of 24 April, Trinidad and Tobago had recorded 111 murders year-to-date. The SOE appears to have produced a measurable suppression effect, though the same displacement dynamics documented in Jamaica may apply. The gang landscape in Trinidad is characterized by competition for control of drug transit routes and downstream distribution networks, with firearms readily available through maritime trafficking channels.

Firearms Trafficking

In May 2025, Jamaica Customs seized 238 firearms and 23,000+ rounds of ammunition concealed in water heaters at Kingston's seaport — one of the largest single seizures in Caribbean history and illustrative of the scale and sophistication of firearms trafficking into the region.

In February 2026, the US State Department announced expanded US-Caribbean cooperation to disrupt illicit firearms trafficking. CARICOM states convened the Fifth Annual Caribbean Firearms Roadmap meeting in Trinidad (November 2025), with 13 of 15 member states having developed National Action Plans. An emerging concern is the increased trafficking of AR/AK-pattern rifles and large-capacity magazines into the region, representing a qualitative escalation in the lethality available to criminal organizations.

Money Laundering and Cybercrime

CARICOM launched the updated Cyber Security and Cybercrime Action Plan (CCSCAP 2025) on 31 October 2025 in Port-of-Spain, adding a sixth pillar on Incident Response for critical infrastructure protection. The EU-funded EL PACCTO 2.0 program established a dedicated workstream targeting ransomware and cyber-enabled money laundering. Criminal networks trafficking cocaine to European ports are increasingly involved in sophisticated money laundering through shell companies, cryptocurrency, and real estate investment across Caribbean jurisdictions.

Regional Law Enforcement Cooperation

On 12 May 2026, CARICOM IMPACS and the Crime Stoppers Foundation signed a formal cooperation agreement in Paramaribo, Suriname, at the Annual Conference of Caribbean Commissioners of Police. The agreement targets transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, arms smuggling, human trafficking, and cyber-enabled crime through enhanced intelligence-sharing mechanisms.

IMPACS' Joint Regional Communications Centre hosted French Gendarmerie representatives on 11–12 April 2026 in Barbados following a new information-sharing agreement, reflecting expanded cooperation with European security services operating in the Caribbean through overseas territories. In March 2026, a Southern Caribbean Corridor study on transnational organized crime was launched, focusing on trafficking dynamics between Trinidad, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela.

Outlook

The Caribbean security environment is characterized by an intensifying counter-narcotics posture from Washington — exemplified by Operation Southern Spear's unprecedented use of lethal force — intersecting with persistent structural vulnerabilities across island states. Jamaica and Trinidad demonstrate that aggressive SOE-based approaches can suppress violence metrics in the short term, but displacement effects and the absence of root-cause interventions limit long-term sustainability. The firearms trafficking pipeline from the United States into the Caribbean remains the single most actionable supply-side factor driving lethal violence. Congressional and IG scrutiny of Operation Southern Spear may recalibrate US operational approaches in the second half of 2026.

Sources

• DEA Caribbean Division, Seizure of 1,400+ Pounds of Cocaine Southeast of Puerto Rico, April 2026
• US Department of the Treasury, OFAC Designates Luis Manuel Picado Grijalba Network, January 2026
• ACLED/Cambridge University, Do States of Emergency Suppress Gang Violence or Spread It?, 2026
• CARICOM IMPACS, Crime Stoppers Foundation Cooperation Agreement, May 2026
• US Department of State, US-Caribbean Cooperation to Disrupt Illicit Firearms Trafficking, February 2026
• CARICOM, Updated Cyber Security and Cybercrime Action Plan (CCSCAP 2025), October 2025
• CNN, Pentagon Watchdog Evaluating Drug Boat Strikes Under Operation Southern Spear, May 2026
• InSight Crime, 2025 Cocaine Seizure Round-Up: Colombia and the Caribbean