Political Status of Puerto Rico: Geopolitical, Geostrategic and National Security Aspects - Links Review - Originally Published on 6.20.13, Updated on 6.27.13.
Mike Nova:
What will serve the (joint, one and the same, due to a joint nature of foreign policy) geopolitical and the geostrategic interests of The United States and Puerto Rico better: statehood or the current status?
Various factors have to be considered, among them:
1) The Caribbean and Latin America as a battleground of conflicting political ideologies and governing models in the light and darknesses of old Russian shoe-ins and relatively newly economically expansionist China, eyeing to control trade routes with the planned Nicaragua canal, "a step that looks set to have profound geopolitical ramifications", a "project will reinforce China's growing influence on global trade and weaken US dominance over a key shipping route", according to "The Guardian".
In this connection the paper mentioned the issue of " China... influencing the international court of justice to secure the territorial waters that Nicaragua needs for the project.
In an op-ed piece for the magazine Semana, Noemí Sanín, a former Colombian foreign secretary, and Miguel Ceballos, a former vice-minister of justice, said a Chinese judge had settled in Nicaragua's favour on a 13-year-old dispute over 75,000 square kilometres of sea.
They said this took place soon after Nicaraguan officials signed a memorandum of understanding last September with Wang Jing, the chairman of Xinwei Telecom and president of the newly established Hong Kong firm HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company, to build and operate the canal."
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From
russia and the caribbean - Google Search:
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Radio Cadena Agramonet-15 hours agoShare
Cuba, China and Russia rejected today a statement by the US State ... accusation and stated that the US blockade against that Caribbean ...
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Russia Seeks to Restore Influence in Latin America
The Moscow Times-May 29, 2013
Russia Seeks to Restore Influence in Latin America
30 May 2013 | Issue 5137
Misha Japaridze / AP
Foreign Minister Lavrov meeting with counterparts countries in the Community of Latin America and Caribbean States.
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Huffington Post-Jun 15, 2013Share
The signing took place a day after Nicaragua's National Assembly voted to grant Hong Kong-based HKNicaragua Canal Development ...
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As has been the case for centuries — since around the time of the first proposal for a Nicaraguan canal, in 1825 — Panama also appears to be several steps ahead. Its recent expansion effort to accommodate larger “supermax” cargo ships makes it a more appealing option now and in the future. Many experts say Nicaragua is going to have a hard time convincing investors that there are enough ships to support a second Central American canal.
“Even if they did get the $40 billion, the increases in traffic are increasingly speculative,” Mr. Maurer said. Other experts agreed, noting that while Mr. Ortega and his allies would love to have a canal — viewing it as a pathway out of Nicaragua’s persistent poverty — their hopes will most likely be dashed yet again.
“That the Assembly approved the project doesn’t mean that the company has found the investors to make it happen,” said Geoff Thale, program director of the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights group, adding that as with “lots of big commercial ventures that are announced with lots of bells and whistles,” the likelihood of success was slim.
The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) states and Russia will create a mechanism for political dialogue, said in a statement issued at the end of a meeting in Moscow of the foreign ministers of the “expanded troika” of CELAC (Cuba, Chile, Costa Rica and Haiti) and Russia.
“Ministers have proposed to set up a permanent mechanism for political dialogue and cooperation Russia-CELAC to discuss and coordinate positions on issues of common interest in international politics,” reads the document.
According to the text, such cooperation will include promoting the principles of international law and the Charter of the UN, “to strengthen democracy and to ensure that all human rights, the fight against international terrorism in all its forms and in all its manifestations, including its funding to suppress drug trafficking and arms trafficking in the legalization of criminal proceeds and transnational organized crime. “This will be subject to the review and approval of other members of the Community at the next meeting of Foreign Ministers.
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2) The ever surging (and not very far in its connections from the previous issue) drug trade in the Caribbean, which besides its primary threat to the security of the mainland, fuels the government corruption in the area, undermines the legal economies and creates the excess cash in need of "laundering". It is also widely viewed as one of the main sources of rampant crime and lack of social integration in the Caribbean and Puerto Rico, tearing at the fabric of social life and perspectives for economic prosperity.
U.S. State Department predicted " a surge in drug trafficking activity by 2015 as operations shift to the tropics due to a crackdown in much of Latin America."
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Aerial surveys by the US Military’s Southern Command show that drug traffickers are shifting back to Caribbean sea routes in response to pressure on trafficking corridors running through the Central American isthmus.
Drug networks have also adopted new tactics to evade detection, officials at the Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF-S) told the Guatemalan news organization Siglo21. Traffickers now slow their go-fast boats, whose high speeds once made them easy to spot, to the pace of normal fishing boats and sometimes conceal them amid a fleet of up to 20 other vessels.
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The new maritime routes have not yet supplanted overland trafficking, DEA administrator Michele Leonhart said in a statement (
see pdf here) before the US House of Representatives subcommittee on crime, terrorism, and homeland security in June. With pressure set to continue on trafficking corridors in Central America, though, it is likely the Caribbean will be increasingly utilized for drug shipments."
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Though Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries have made significant efforts in addressing the burgeoning drug trade, the United States says more still needs to be done.
In its 2013 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, released here this week, the US Department of State lauded general efforts being made, but was very critical of what it regarded as inefficient measures implemented in some countries."
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It is estimated that nearly 80% of the cocaine through Puerto Rico is directed to cities along the east coast of the United States, particularly cities along the coast of Florida."
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Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA) Executive Director Juan E. Hernández today announced that Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), agreed to his request made during a meeting they held on May 8, for Puerto Rico to be included within the increased border security measures, proposed in the comprehensive immigration reform bill that started to be debated this week in the U.S. Senate."
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America’s Caribbean Border – The Under-Protected Front in the Nation’s War on Drugs
As the first line of defense along the nation’s Caribbean Border, the U.S. territory of
Puerto Rico needs many of the same resources provided to the U.S. states bordering Mexico to
combat the illicit drug trade. The drug-related violence taking place at unprecedented levels in
Puerto Rico is directly related to the Island’s position at the center of America’s under-protected
Caribbean Border in the nation’s drug war. The federal government should deploy a Caribbean
Border Initiative, similar to the effort along the U.S. southern border, to ensure the nation’s
borders are fully protected.
A National Security Issue: Puerto Rico is serving as America’s Caribbean Border in the
nation’s fight against drug trafficking.
• The U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in the Caribbean serve as
the southernmost points of entry for people and goods coming into the United States,
effectively serving as America’s Caribbean Border.
...
Given the disproportionate levels of violent crime being experienced in Puerto Rico
compared to other states bordering the U.S.-Mexico border, it is clear that the federal law
enforcement agencies in Puerto Rico must be further strengthened."
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Given the current controversy surrounding the extent of the U.S. drone program and targeted killings, it is important to revisit that in the summer of 2012, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency announced that unmanned drones would begin patrolling Caribbean airspace as an expansion of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI). This is only one aspect of how the War on Drugs in the Caribbean is increasingly looking like the War on Terror.
The U.S.–Caribbean border is the often ignored “Third Border,” which the Department of Homeland Security has referred to as an “open door for drug traffickers and terrorists.” A recent study by the National Defence University has
stated that “the region's nexus to the United States uniquely positions it in the proximate U.S. geopolitical and strategic sphere.
Thus, there is an incentive, if not an urgency, for the United States to proactively pursue security capacity-building measures in the Caribbean region.”"
Latin America and the Caribbean: Illicit Drug Trafficking and U.S. Counterdrug Programs
fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/142364.pdf
by LS Wyler - 2010
Apr 30, 2010 – Drug trafficking is viewed as a primary threat to citizen security and U.S. interests in Latin. America and the Caribbean despite decades of ...
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Drug trafficking is viewed as a primary threat to citizen security and U.S. interests in Latin
America and the Caribbean despite decades of anti-drug efforts by the United States and partner
governments. The production and trafficking of popular illicit drugs—cocaine, marijuana,
opiates, and methamphetamine—generates a multi-billion dollar black market in which Latin
American criminal and terrorist organizations thrive. These groups challenge state authority in
source and transit countries where governments are often fragile and easily corrupted. Mexican
drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) largely control the U.S. illicit drug market and have been
identified by the U.S. Department of Justice as the “greatest organized crime threat to the United
States.” Drug trafficking-related crime and violence in the region has escalated in recent years,
raising the drug issue to the forefront of U.S. foreign policy concerns.
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The Caribbean-South Florida route continues to be active, and although currently less utilized
than the Central America-Mexico route, some observers have warned that activity along this route
may surge once more in the near future. As U.S. counternarcotics cooperation with Venezuela has
diminished since 2005, Venezuela has become a major transit point for drug flights through the
Caribbean—particularly Haiti and the Dominican Republic—into the United States as well as to
Europe. Elsewhere in the Caribbean, the Bahamas continues to serve as a major transit country
for both Jamaican marijuana and South American cocaine.
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Latin America’s central role in the illicit drug market stems largely from the Andean region’s
unique position as the world’s only source region for coca and cocaine. Another major factor
contributing to the region’s prominence in today’s drug trade is its proximity to the United States,
a major drug consumption market. Underlying factors that have allowed drug trafficking to
flourish include poverty and a lack of viable alternative livelihoods for farmers; corruption;
weaknesses in law enforcement and justice-sector capacity to deter drug traffickers; the presence
of insurgent groups involved in drug production and trafficking in some countries; and the
geographical impediments to interdiction, including difficult-to-monitor political borders and
maritime terrain. Uneven political support for counterdrug efforts may also fuel drug trafficking.
...
Latin American drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) control various aspects of the drug supply
chain and vary in terms of capabilities, organizational structure, and level of associated violence.
Some of the more sophisticated groups possess extensive paramilitary and counterintelligence
capabilities that allow them to rival state security forces and operate with relative impunity
through deep networks of corrupt officials in key offices.
...
The Latin America and the Caribbean region has among the highest crime rates, including violent
crime rates, of any region in the world. In February 2010, the UNODC released an updated
analysis of global homicide rates, which found that in sharp contrast to a global trend of
decreasing or stabilizing homicide rates, homicides in Latin America and the Caribbean had, on
average, increased from 19.9 per 100,000 people in 2003 to 32.6 per 100,000 people in 2008 (see
Figure 2).25 In addition, the level of kidnappings, assaults, and other manifestations of organized
violence appear to have risen.
Recent studies have shown that, while other factors like income inequality are still contributing
factors, criminality, particularly related to drug trafficking, has replaced political and regional
conflicts as a major source of violence in many Latin America and Caribbean countries.26 Some
violence is directly associated with the protection of drug trafficking routes and syndicate power
struggles. Other violence occurs as DTOs corrupt and undermine local police and criminal justice
institutions as well as societal institutions, weakening respect for the rule of law. Criminality
directly associated with the illegal drug trade increases the prevalence of related crimes, including
kidnapping, murder, money laundering, and firearms trafficking. Involvement in the drug trade
also negatively affects licit economic development."
Puerto Rico statehood, as any proper marriage should, depends on the will of both parties, but, that's said, maybe even more so on the will of The United States Congress, as Mr. Pierluisi astutely mentioned in his UN address.
" We likewise recognize that the U.S. Congress could unilaterally rescind the powers it has delegated to Puerto Rico if it saw fit to do so.
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As a legal matter, the U.S. Constitution vests Congress with broad authority over its territories. For Puerto Rico to evolve and to become a state or sovereign nation, it is not enough to just seek such a change; U.S. Congress and the President must act to enable that change."
And this respectable body and its corresponding constituents might need some "convincing framework" to form. And the above mentioned issues will not be the last ones on the future Convincing List by far.
It is worth mentioning that 1983 Rand Study "Geopolitics, Security, and U.S. Strategy in the Caribbean Basin" by D. Ronfeldt noted in its summary that "consensus on the nature and importance of U.S. security interests in the Caribbean Basin is sorely lacking". This study proposed a conceptual framework based on Monroe Doctine and formulated the principles which remain in effect, and even more urgently so, thirty years later:
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Links Review:
Es al proyecto de ley que establece las asignaciones del Departamento de Se...
Fueron convocados los dirigentes de las colectividades políticas
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Russia Seeks to Restore Influence in Latin America
The Moscow Times-May 29, 2013
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Puerto Rico’s Political Status and the 2012 Plebiscite: Background and Key Questions
R. Sam Garrett
Specialist in American National Government
October 2, 2012
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english.geopolitics.ro/puerto-rico-a-possible-remodeling-of-western-hem...
Puerto Rico (the Associated Free State of Puerto Rico or the Commonwealth of .... of inhabitants and the aspects that have to do with the political opinions of a ...
However, an inevitable conflict in the Middle East, whether we are talking about actors such as Israel, Iran, Saudi Arabia or Turkey, seems to have, at least on the medium if not the long term, an extremely important “rival” on Washington’s agenda for the control not just of the Atlantic and of the Panama Canal but also for a potential control of China’s merchant navy that will in the future look for new routes, and for enhancing the balance of power in what concerns Russian interests in the area and the relatively uncontrolled development of the military arsenal in South America.
It is true that such an option is one of the United States of America’s priorities, given the fact that she needs to secure both the South Atlantic and the Caribbean in case of a possible “Pacific war,” whether military or commercial in nature.
Thus, while many analysts are carefully watching the ceaseless growth of the global crisis, an artificial crisis of American origin, a small group of persons in the United States and the European Union on one hand, and in Russia, China and Latin America on the other, are carefully analyzing a possible union at federative level between the United States and Puerto Rico.
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It has to be said that the currency is minted at the orders of the American federal government, just like defense and foreign affairs remain the exclusive prerogative of the White House, Puerto Rico doing nothing but rallying behind the position taken by the American federal government.
After winning independence from the Spanish Crown on December 10, 1898, Puerto Rico became a Free Associated State in 1952. On the basis of the “insular cases,” the US Supreme Court decided that Puerto Rico belongs to but is not a part of the US.
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The plebiscite
Despite an apparent political calm due to the island’s statute, in recent years the inhabitants have started to fall within two categories: those that want their country to become the 51st American state and those that want the island to become sovereign and, consequently, independent. Debates and plebiscites on the island’s political status have taken place until now. It has to be pointed out that the first to take place showed in 1967 that a little over 60 per cent voted for the Free Associated State status, 39 per cent voted for statehood (in the form of a state that is part of a federation), while only 0.6 per cent voted for independence.
In 2011 the Governor decided to organize a two-stage plebiscite in order to try to settle the island’s statute. Thus, the first stage of the plebiscite on the island’s political statute took place on August 12, 2012, people being asked to choose between keeping the same statute in relation to the federal government in Washington and a different neocolonial variant. The second stage of the plebiscite in which the citizens had to choose between three non-colonial options – statehood, independence and free association – took place on November 6, the day of the American elections.
From a total of 2,402,941 registered voters a number of 2,351,158 were validated. It has to be pointed out that of the total number of votes cast, 0.98 per cent were invalidated and 26.04 per cent were blank votes. Thus, 4.04 per cent voted for the country’s independence, 24.32 per cent voted for the form of a Free Associated State and 44.61 per cent voted that Puerto Rico should become a full member of the federation as the 51st American state. In real terms this means that of the total population of Puerto Rico (with and without the right to vote) less than 25 per cent decided the destiny of the whole nation. Also worthy of mention is the fact that over 4.6 million Puerto Ricans are living in the United States (more than those living on the island), enjoying all the rights conferred by American citizenship.
Political and social unrest
Not long after the official results were revealed virulent reactions started to appear from society, politicians and foreign powers, Latin American powers in particular.
Latin American states that have an economic and foreign policy relatively different than that of the United States criticized the plebiscite in Puerto Rico and even suspected its results. The same suspicion concerning the results came from some American analysts that consider that in 2013 the US Congress will disregard the results of the November 2012 plebiscite.
Moreover, some voices rather support a statute similar to that of Andorra which, despite the duumvirate seen at head of state level (according to the constitution Andorra has two heads of state – the French King, currently the French President, and the Catalan Bishop of Seo de Urgel), is a sovereign and independent nation.
On the continent, two American Congressmen (of Puerto Rican descent), Luis Gutierrez (Democrat Party representative for Illinois) and Nydia Velasquez (Democrat Party representative for New York) have publicly stated that the plebiscite was “a non-transparent process” and saluted the article that appeared in ‘The Hill’ and which claims that the Congress will disregard it. At the same time, there are two contradictory things from the point of view of constitutional law. First of all, Article 4 of the US Constitution states that the US Congress decides which territories will be incorporated into the Union. Secondly, President Obama’s statement is in relative opposition to the Constitution whose guarantor he is: “Puerto Rico’s statute should be decided by the residents of Puerto Rico.”
If until a week ago the press was talking about the fact that Puerto Ricans were voting for independence, after the plebiscite most of the publications were talking about the fact that “Puerto Rico wants dependence.”
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The infrastructure
Puerto Rico has one of the most modern infrastructures in Latin America and the Caribbean, being surpassed (as national-level average) solely by Canada and the United States of America. It has 8 main cities, including the capital (San Juan, Bayamon, Caguas, Guaynabo, Carolina, Ponce, Cayey and Mayaguez) which is considered the “metropolis of the Caribbean” because of its modern buildings and which is 71st in the world when it comes to quality of life.
Nevertheless, the country is confronted with the lack of a general planning project, a fact that affects the environment because it does not offer protection to the island’s natural resources. According to a survey, if development were to continue at the same unplanned rhythm in the next 700 years Puerto Rico would be at risk of becoming an island city.
The city’s railway infrastructure is very modern and will be expanded at national level in order to connect all of the country’s main points, and will include a line to the international airport. The only nuclear power plant in the Caribbean is located in the Rincon municipality.
When it comes to the maritime infrastructure, the port of San Juan is the fourth-busiest maritime port in the Western Hemisphere, the tenth-busiest in the United States and is 17th in the world when it comes to the handling of containers. Likewise, it is considered the world’s largest port for private and pleasure crafts, and is second in the world after Miami when it comes to the number of cruise ships it can accommodate. Apart from the main port the island has eight other smaller ports with the Port of the Americas set to be renovated and enlarged.
The Luis Munoz international airport is the island’s largest airport, located 12.7 kilometers from its historic centre, near the Carolina municipality, being one of the busiest airports in the Caribbean and a vital air transportation junction for air traffic between the United States of America and the rest of the Caribbean islands.
Fernando Ribas Dominicci is the second largest airport, being mainly used for private, charter or internal commercial flights. It was the largest airport on the island before the Luis Munoz airport was inaugurated.
Infrastructure played an essential role in the island’s economic development for two reasons: commercial (given the geostrategic and geo-economic position) and tourism-related.
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Other aspects
Given this geopolitical and geostrategic context, one should not forget the major geo-economic interest that Russia and China can manifest given the fact that their interests in the Western Hemisphere continue to develop in parallel with those of the United States. Starting off from this, we have to point out that Puerto Rico has Russian and Chinese communities.
The Russians are called Russian-Ricans and they consist of a small community of approximately 50 families that are actively promoting Slavic culture on the island, organizing on a yearly basis festivals and events meant to draw attention to Russia. This might seem insignificant, however taking into account the small number of inhabitants and the aspects that have to do with the political opinions of a certain category of Puerto Ricans in regard to the US policy, it should not be neglected.
The Chinese minority in Puerto Rico has a history that can be dated back to the start of the 19th Century. The community is currently growing and is mainly active in the gastronomical and cultural domain. Because the island is under United States jurisdiction arrests of Chinese immigrants took place lately.
An analysis of Russia’s and China’s interests in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean will follow in another article.
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_status_of_Puerto_RicoShare
Politically, Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States which ... the people of Puerto Rico are often considered to be a Caribbean nation with ...
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_immigration_to_Puerto_Rico
Large-scale Chinese immigration to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean began during the 19th century. Chinese immigrants had to face different obstacles that ...
Chinese influence in Puerto Rico[edit]
Chinese Puerto Ricans are involved in operating Chinese restaurants, and others work in other sectors. Many members of Puerto Rico's Chinese minority have integrated both Puerto Rican and Chinese cultures into their daily lives. Some Chinese have intermarried with Puerto Ricans and many of today's Chinese-Puerto Ricans have Hispanic surnames and are of mixed Chinese and Puerto Rican descent, e.g., Wu-Trujillo.[7]
Various businesses are named Los Chinos (The Chinese) and a valley in Maunabo, Puerto Rico is called Quebrada Los Chinos (The Chinese Stream).[8] The Padmasambhava Buddhist Center, whose followers practice Tibetan Buddhism, has a branch in Puerto Rico.[9]
Illegal immigration of Chinese nationals has become a problem in Puerto Rico. On November 28, 2007, the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that 15 citizens of the People's Republic of China were arrested and indicted for human smuggling. According to the indictment, the defendants participated in an alien smuggling organization operating out of the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. The organization was transporting, moving, concealing, harboring and shielding aliens. They arranged the transportation and moving of Chinese nationals from the Dominican Republic into the United States.[11]
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newsismybusiness.com/caribbean-targets-2-new-markets-south-america-r...
May 3, 2012 – Caribbean islands are aggressively courting new tourism markets headed by South ... “We are working very hard to strengthen Puerto Rico's presence in these ... outbound market, followed by the United States and China.
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latinculturetoday.blogspot.com/.../china-caribbean-multi-billion-dollar.ht...
Jun 3, 2013 – The region might soon be considered a gateway to the far east, as predicted in the Caribbean political satire "United States of Banana" by Puerto Ricanauthor Giannina Braschi, who posits China as the biggest game changer in the ...... TheRussian poet Yevgeni Yevtushenko wrote the poem "When they murdered Lorca" ("Когда убили Лорку") in which he portrays Lorca as being akin to Don Quixote—an immortal symbol of one's devotion to his ideals and perpetual ...
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prnewslinks.blogspot.com/2013/.../president-xi-jinpings-state-visits-to.ht...
by Mike Nova
Jun 5, 2013 – Comprehensive collection of newslinks to Puerto Rico, The Caribbeanand The Latino Culture - Amplia colección de newslinks a Puerto Rico, el Caribe y la Cultura Latina ...
prnewslinks.blogspot.com/.../china-commits-us3b-to-caribbean-us.html
by Mike Nova
Jun 4, 2013 – Comprehensive collection of newslinks to Puerto Rico, The Caribbeanand The Latino Culture - Amplia colección de newslinks a Puerto Rico, el Caribe y la Cultura Latina ... LONDON, England -- An all-party group of British members of parliament, established to further the interests of the Cayman Islands, should be closed down, a senior member of the House of Lords, Lord Oakeshott, said on Monday. The House of Commons standards committee is looking into.
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www.miaminewtimes.com/2013-03.../puerto-rico-drugs-murders-miami/
Mar 21, 2013 – Julio Ramos Oliver died over a spilled drink. It was just after midnight January 20, and Old San Juan shook with the fiesta de San Sebastián. Under the golden glow of street lamps, more than 100000 Puerto Ricans.
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_drugs_in_Puerto_Rico
Illegal drugs in Puerto Rico are an increasingly significant problem from a criminal, social, and medical perspective, and a large amount of crime in Puerto Rico ...
Illegal drugs in Puerto Rico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Puerto Rico
Crime rates (2008)
Crime type Rate*
Homicide: 20.4
Forcible rape: 2.4
Robbery: 138.3
Aggravated assault: 78.8
Violent crime: 239.9
Burglary: 484
Larceny-theft: 837.4
Motor vehicle theft: 177.1
Property crime: 1,498.5
Notes
* Number of reported crimes per 100,000 population.
*Compare with other cities
Source: FBI 2008 UCR data
Illegal drugs in Puerto Rico are an increasingly significant problem from a criminal, social, and medical perspective, and a large amount of crime in Puerto Rico has been linked to the amount of illegal drugs that flow through the country. Located in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico has become a major transshipment point for drugs into the United States.[1] Violent and property crimes have increased due in part to dealers trying to keep their drug business afloat, using guns and violence to protect themselves, their turfs, and drug habits.[2]
Crimes related to drugs are not the only crimes that has plagued the island. Police and political corruption have also been problematic, as have gangs, which further contribute to the drug problem and associated crime in Puerto Rico.[3]
Crime reduction[edit]
The Puerto Rican government has implemented a series of law enforcement operations in relation to the federal "war on drugs" in order to minimize drug-related crimes and trafficking on the island. In 1985, the government started Operation Greenback, an investigation by the FBI, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), into the inconsistencies between the drastic increase of cash flow into the Puerto Rican economy and the double digit unemployment rate and bad economy in the 70s and early 1980s. The operation uncovered money laundering schemes from within financial institutions and from the sale of illegal lottery ticket sales. Federal agents raided 10 banks and arrested 17 people on money laundering charges.[2]
In 1990, Operation Lucky Strike, was put in motion by the FBI and local law enforcement officials, when residents of Vega Baja unearthed $20 million dollars on a nearby farm. They tried to stop the circulation of the illegal money and mobilized to arrest the individuals connected to the money.[2] In 1993, the Puerto Rican government used the National Guard to help local police in controlling street crime, and later used them again to occupy about a dozen public housing projects in and around San Juan, that police deemed as "hot spots" for drug-related crimes. The operation produced the seizure of 1,200 bags of cocaine, 216 bags of marijuana, 369 capsules of crack, 1,142 bags of heroin, 3 kilos of rock cocaine, and 1 kilo of heroin.[citation needed]
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illegal_drug_trade_in_Latin_America
As a result of the concentration of drug trafficking, Latin America and the Caribbeanhas the world's highest crime rates, with murder reaching 32.6 per 100,000 ...
www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/673520.html
Mar 16, 2013 – The State Department described Guyana as a transit country forcocaine destined for the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, and ...
www.huffingtonpost.com/.../the-caribbean-likely-to-s_n_3014232.html
Apr 3, 2013 – SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- A top U.S. State Department official says theCaribbean will likely see a surge in drug trafficking activity by 2015 as ...
www.prfaa.pr.gov/.../America_s%20Caribbean%20Border%20-%20Dru...
A National Security Issue: Puerto Rico is serving as America's Caribbean Border in the nation's fight against drug trafficking. • The U.S. territories of Puerto Rico ...
Feb 8, 2013 – The Drug Trade and the Increasing Militarization of the Caribbean. warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in ...
www.insightcrime.org/news.../united-states-drug-trafficking-caribbean
Sep 10, 2012 – Aerial surveys by the US military's South Command show that drugtraffickers are shifting back to Caribbean sea routes in response to pressure ...
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San Antonio Express-May 28, 2013Share
Biden said Washington and the Caribbean region should be prepared to counter upticks in drug trafficking if smuggling routes swing back ...
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Inter Press Service-May 30, 2013Share
“The Caribbean has never downplayed the importance of the United States to ... those involved in the illegal drug trade to target the Caribbean.
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www.jurist.org/.../un-report-drug-trafficking-threatens-rule-of-law-in-ce...
by Rebecca DiLeonardo
Sep 28, 2012 – [JURIST] Drug trafficking and violent crime in Central America and theCaribbean threaten the rule of law in those regions, according to a report [text, PDF; press release] released Thursday by the UN Office of Drugs and ...
www.mda.gov/2013/05/.../u-s-supports-caribbean-basin-security-initiativ...
by NMIO
May 29, 2013 – Working together in support of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), the United States and the nations of the Caribbean are combating the drug trade and other transnational crimes that threaten regional security.
www.caribbeannewsnow.com/topstory-Commentary%3A-Russia-and-Ni...
Apr 25, 2013 – On March 19, 2013, the Director of Federal Drug Control Service (FDCS) of the Russian Federation, Viktor Ivanov, arrived in Nicaragua to encourage the development of deeper cooperation in curbing drug trafficking. During ...
www.whitehouse.gov/.../fact-sheet-united-states-support-caribbean-basin...
by The White House
May 28, 2013 – Working together in support of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), the United States and the nations of the Caribbean are combating the drug trade and other transnational crimes that threaten regional security.
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» The Dominican Republic and Drug Smuggling via the Caribbean - Mexidata.info
17/06/13 02:39 from caribbean drug trade - Google News
The Dominican Republic and Drug Smuggling via the Caribbean Mexidata.info To break the cycle of narcotics trafficking and the accompanying violence by organized criminals and gangs, as they increasingly (and once again) make end runs via t..
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blogs.uprm.edu/film/files/2012/11/Nation-Migration-Identity.pdf
dispersion and the continuing colonial status of Puerto Rico. ..... concentrate on the practical aspects of achieving and maintaining independence, ..... political andstrategic factors, this insistence reveals the colonial nature of US –. Puerto ...
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www.prdream.com/.../obamas-strategic-moves-on-puerto-rico-could-sot...
by escalona
Dec 16, 2009 – OBAMA’S STRATEGIC MOVES ON PUERTO RICO – Could Sotomayor Influence the Puerto Rican Status Issue? 9:00 AM BY MAEGAN LA MAMITA MALA – POLITICS| PUERTO RICO| WOMEN 1Jun2009 – VivirLatino.
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Puerto_RicoShare
Jump to Implications of the current political status: Puerto Rico is an organized unincorporated U.S. territory ... that a state of the Union has, given that Puerto Rico is a possession ... Exemption from some aspects of the Internal Revenue ...
en.wikipedia.org/.../United_States-Puerto_Rico_Political_Statu...
The United States-Puerto Rico Political Status Act (1998) was a bill proposed in the United States Congress to help refine the political status of Puerto Rico.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_Puerto_Rico
L. 82–447 due to Puerto Rico's political status as a commonwealth of the United States. Ultimately, the powers of the government of Puerto Rico are all ...
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Updated on 7.18.13
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