NCJ Number
124826
Date Published
1990
Length
74 pages
Annotation
This General Accounting Office (GAO) report discusses U.S.-Bahamas drug interdiction operations, collaborative drug control activities, and U.S. antidrug strategies.
Abstract
Antidrug efforts in the Bahamas play a vital role in the U.S. war on drugs because the Bahamas occupy a strategic location between the United States and drug-producing countries. The primary objective of U.S. antidrug efforts in the Bahamas is interdiction. U.S. agencies spent about $76 million over the last 3 years in support of counternarcotics efforts in the Bahamas. While the GAO observed some friction among agencies in certain interdiction operations, no indication was found that the number of antidrug agencies and programs and the decentralized management and planning of drug control efforts had caused significant conflicts or impaired U.S. efforts in the Bahamas. U.S.-supported interdiction operations resulted in the seizure of about 11 tons of cocaine and 51 tons of marijuana in the Bahamas during 1988. The installation of additional radars and helicopters in the Bahamas will increase the capabilities of drug interdiction efforts, but this equipment is costly and will not eliminate certain limitations to interdiction operations. Appendixes contain supplemental information on U.S. drug interdiction operations. 2 tables, 5 figures.