Human beings, when left to control themselves, will always tend to organize themselves into hierarchical divides because of their social nature. The strongest groups always dominate power and try to control others who are considered weaklings. These groups are commonly referred to as organized crime units. The transnational organized crime units are a type of organized crime group which are composed of self-perpetuating personalities who operate on a transnational basis to attain financial gains, influence and power both legally and illegally. These crime associations employ violence and corruption to safeguard their underhand activities. They have set up transnational organizational structures that help to protect their illegal undertakings and always seek to exploit transnational trade and communication mechanisms. The transnational organized crime units do not have a rigid single organization under which they operate, but operate within clans, hierarchies, cells and networks. They are characterized by committing violence in the course of their dealings, expanding power, and avoiding exposure. They try to expand their influence into politics, government and corporate world by both legal and illegal means. They are mainly after financial prowess from investing in both authentic dealings and illicit activities. They always try by all means to protect their members from being noticed and from being prosecuted.The criminal gangs are a threat to national and international security, autonomous institutions, public health and economic growth. These transnational organized crime units are very rampant within Central America, and there is a need to combat them. This paper, therefore, seeks to study how military counterintelligence units help to counter transnational organized crime (CTOC) in Central America. The paper will also cover the future way ahead for Counterintelligence in the Central Americans countries and the best way to curb the transnational organized.
The counterintelligence (CI) unit within the US Army supports military operations by providing a perfect depiction of the risk to directives at all levels and actions necessary to defend the army from manipulation by foreign intelligence. The CI unit can identify all aspects that are related to intelligence and which may be a threat to military operations and personnel. The CI has helped to promote anti-transnational organized crime in Central America in various ways as discussed below.
The CI has helped various countries to strengthen government authority and transparency, halt the fraud power of transnational criminal groups and break state-crime coalitions. The CI helps governments within the Central America to develop sustainable abilities that are essential to combat transnational terrorization. They help to reinforce appropriate and operative public security, safety, democratic institutions. The CI units also help to break powerful criminal associations that exist between the transnational organized criminal gangs and the governments.For instance, between 1989 and 1993, the U. S. CI units helped the Colombian government to bring down Pablo Escobar, an infamous drug trafficker. The U.S. counterterrorism units, the Delta Force together with an electronic surveillance team were able to monitor Pablo’s movements. They then disseminated this information to the Colombian military and police units who then attacked Pablo. The CI supplied the Colombian government with sufficient intelligence information, conducted training of both the Colombian military and police staff and helped to plan the attacks on Pablo and his acquaintances. The collaboration between the U. S. Counterintelligence units and the Colombian government led to the ultimate downfall of the Pablo and his empire in 1993. However, during this mission, some of the CI officials were accused of overstepping their deployment mandates.
The CI units target groups that pose a danger to the security and health of the citizens within Central America. Through their sophisticated intelligence systems and weaponry, they are able to detect underhand activities performed by illegal cartels that may risk the lives of the citizens. As stipulated in the U. S. Army Regulation 381-10, the military is left with the responsibility of protecting the constitutional rights of all individuals. The CI units help in theidentificationand arrest of cocaine traffickers in Honduras and Guatemala. These counterintelligence units assist in breaking cartels formed by those involved in the drug trade.
The counterintelligence units help to break the economic power enjoyed by the transnational organized criminal gangs in Central America. They help to safeguard the strategic markets and the monetary system of the U. S. from the infiltration and exploitation by the transnational organized criminal groups. These criminal gangs employ corruption and violence in their activities to disrupt the normal business activities by utilizing unhealthy business competition strategies. The CI comes in handy in attacking the fiscal foundations of the most infamous transnational offenders. They make sure that these offenders are brought to the ground financially, their illegitimate businesses brought to a halt and hence safeguarding strategic markets. For example, in Colombia, the U. S. counterintelligence surveillance team helped to destroy the great wealth amassed by the most scandalous drug baron, Pablo, who had been ranked by the Forbes magazine in 1989 as the seventh-richest man globally. Pablo acquired his wealth and political influence through fraud and violence. The involvement of the CI in his pursuit was, therefore, very significant. Using their sophisticated surveillance equipment, the CI units were able to track his phone calls and money transfer systems. Furthermore, they could track his cocaine business and were able to stop the transit of cocaine and other drugs into other countries by this drug baron. This mission helped in inconveniencing Pablo financially. They could inform the Colombian government on his whereabouts and train them on how to attack Pablo and his associates. By doing so, the U.S. CI units helped the Colombian government in bringing sanity back to their economy.
So far the process of combating transnational organized crimes within Central America has been successful. However, not all mechanisms put in place for this purpose have been fruitful especially with the advancement in technology. There is dire need for governments in Central America to come together in the fight against transnational organized crimes. The American government has developed a strategy that will help to counter transnational organized crimes. The strategy 56 actions that will construct, balance and incorporate tools that will counter transnational organized crimes. This strategy is aimed at safeguarding the monetary systems and corporate world, enhancing the military intelligence, interdiction, prosecution of offenders, disrupting drug and illegal firearms trade within Central America.
The U. S. government has plans to improve the process of collecting and analyzing intelligence information. Strategies are being laid to ensure that the Federal government collaborates with the law enforcement institutions at the State, territorial, international and local levels. The government will also monitor business deals to ensure that there are no transnational organized criminal activities. The improved intelligence will be more broad-based and focus on human intelligence (HUMINT), substantially upgraded signals intelligence (SIGINT) and open sources intelligence (OSINT). This strategy will help the U. S. counterintelligence units to share intelligence information on transnational organized crime with countries within Central America and other security agencies. The government will utilize lesser media outlets to monitor transnational organized crime in Central America countries. These media outlets will cover profiles of personalities and organizations that have connections with transnational organized criminal activities. The CI will coordinate with International Organized Crime Intelligence and Operations Center (IOC-2) to use the current records of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) and Fusion Center (OFC). This action will create leads for investigations and prosecution of the transnational organized crime offenders.
The CI will create protocols that will ensure sufficient flow of the transnational organized crime records into the security agencies to promote the screening and outlawing of the transnational organized criminal activities. This action will help to counter transnational organized criminal deals especially at major points of the business chain and at the borders. More intelligence centers such as the Cyber Crimes Center, National Export Enforcement Coordination Center, Bulk Cash Smuggling Center will be put up to assemble and analyze information on intelligence that is linked to transnational organized crime.
The Counterintelligence units will make the National Intelligence Priorities Framework to be up to date with the modern technology to make sure that their surveillance activities are in line with the present transnational organized crimes.The framework will assess the relationship that exist between the transnational organized criminals and some government agencies that makes it hard for the CI to investigate and prosecute transnational organized criminals. This action will help in countering the organized criminal activities in Central America.
Transnational organized crime pose an enormous threat to the wellbeing of the people globally. There are numerous strategies that can be adopted to curb transnational organized crimes. All states must develop intelligence strategies that will offer contribution to develop and implement the global strategies put in place by the United Nations. This strategy will be the major strategy to countering transnational organized crime.
Works Cited
Bagley, Bruce. "DRUG TRAFFICKING AND ORGANIZED CRIME IN THE AMERICAS." WOODROW WILSON CENTER UPDATE ON THE AMERICAS. Miami: WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL, August 2012.
Bowden, Mark. Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw. Washington: Grove/ Atlantic Inc., 2007.
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The White House. Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime. Washington: The White House, 2011.
United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs. Transnational Organized Crime in Central America and the Caribbean. Vienna: United Nations Office on Crime and Drugs, 2012.
