The U.S. announced more than $44 million in new programming to counter transnational criminal organizations operating in the Pacific, recently, when it hosted the first-ever U.S. – Pacific Islands Conference of Police Ministers, or COPMIN. Police ministers from around the Pacific gathered in Los Angeles to discuss a shared vision for the safety, security and prosperity of Blue Continent communities and to strengthen a strategy to break the links in the complex chain of criminal activities fueling drug trafficking.
"Let’s make sure the work we do here really matters,” said F. Cartwright Weiland, Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). “Crime knows no borders, so it’s up to all of us, right here, right now, to work together to defend our interconnected region.”
Key in that work is the launch of RIPTIDE or the Regional Interdiction Partnership for Trafficking Intelligence, Disruption, and Enforcement, for which the U.S. is providing $4 million. Working with INTERPOL, this effort will complement existing regional information sharing efforts by connecting police services in its network of 196 member countries, linking seizures to investigations and to the money behind them. It will also include extensive training for officers on the channels traffickers exploit most.
“With RIPTIDE, countries that share the world’s largest ocean will, for the first time, build a common mechanism against a common criminal enemy,” wrote State Department Spokesman Tommy Pigott a statement.
The U.S. is also providing $7 million toward a maritime law enforcement training and coordination center in Palau and $5.5 million for surveillance and communication tools to provide a clear shared picture of the waters that traffickers and illegal fishing fleets exploit. Through the Coast Guard it is providing $4.5 million for enforcement enhancement. It will also expand bilateral Shiprider operations, wherein law enforcement personnel from regional waters ride aboard Coast Guard ships to expand enforcement capabilities in expanded economic zones.
During the two-day event, Pacific police ministers toured the Port of Long Beach where they saw first-hand the tools U.S. Customs and Border Protection are using to detect fentanyl and other drugs inside cargo. Homeland Security will provide $2.5 million to strengthen border and port security through Facilitating Operational Readiness for Territorial Resilience, Enforcement, and Security (FORTRES).
Further funding will support the disruption of criminal networks and their financing. This includes $5 million through the Federal Bureau of Investigation to back up Pacific Police investigations as well as funding to strengthen Pacific police academies. The Interagency Task Force West will provide $1.3 million to train investigators. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency is providing $450,000 for three years of training and mentorship and the State Department will provide $3.5 million to strengthen border detection capabilities in the Kingdom of Tonga.
The Pacific Alliance for Combating Illicit Finance and Cybercrime or PACIFIC will strengthen financial intelligence units and cybercrime units in the Pacific Islands. The U.S. is providing $5 million toward this endeavor.
“The United States is a Pacific nation,” noted Spokesman Pigott. “Our commitment to the security of the Pacific Islands is steadfast and enduring, and it is a key pillar of our America First Foreign Policy. When the Pacific Islands are secure, the American homeland is safer.”