Describe the respective roles of four federal agencies in the United States, with respect to the interdiction of illicit drugs across U.S. borders

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: Interdiction is the efforts to prevent illicit drugs from being transported across the U.S. border. The challenges are enormous. The primary federal agencies involved in drug interdiction include the DEA, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. military.

Only the DEA has drug-law enforcement as its only responsibility. Employing more than 4,000 officers with the authority to make arrests and carry firearms, the DEA investigates major drug-law violators, enforces regulations governing the manufacture and dispensing of controlled substances, and performs various other functions to prevent and control drug trafficking.DEA agents also work overseas, where they engage in undercover operations in foreign countries, work in cooperation with foreign governments to apprehend major drug traffickers, help to train foreign law enforcement officials, and collect intelligence about general trends in drug trafficking, drug production (illicit farming operations and laboratories), and criminal
organizations operating in the illicit drug trade.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency, operating under the Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for curtailing the flow of illicit drugs across
America's borders. More than 17,000 border patrol officers screen incoming travelers, conveyances, and cargo at more than 300 ports of entry across the United States, often
working with drug-detection dogs. They employ a number of special agents who are responsible for conducting investigations into drug smuggling and money laundering schemes. The agency maintains several specialized branches as well.

The Marine Branch, for example, is responsible for interdicting drugs in near-shore waters by stopping and searching incoming vessels that behave suspiciously, especially
small boats with large engines commonly referred to as "go-fast boats." The Air Branch is responsible for interdicting suspicious aircraft, such as small low-flying aircraft operating at night. Once a suspicious aircraft has been detected, it is normally tracked and forced down by high speed chase planes and then searched.

Customs inspectors are not hampered by constitutional protections that typically
limit the power of other law enforcement agencies; they can search a person, vehicle, or container at ports of entry or near to a U.S. shoreline without probable cause.

The U.S. Coast Guard is the lead federal agency for maritime drug interdiction and shares responsibility for air interdiction with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency. The agency is a key player in combating the flow of illegal drugs to the United States by denying smugglers the use of maritime routes in the "transit zone," a six-million-square-mile area including the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Eastern Pacific. Coast Guard ships can stop and board any maritime vessel operating within a twelve-mile radius of the U.S. shoreline.

The U.S. military supports the drug interdiction efforts of many federal and state drug enforcement agencies by providing air and ground observation and reconnaissance, environmental assessments, intelligence analysts and linguists, and transportation and
engineering support. Military training teams also teach civilian law enforcement officers such skills as combat lifesaving, surveillance techniques, and advanced and tactical military operations that can be used in counter-drug operations. Military personnel can support counter-drug efforts, but they cannot search or arrest drug traffickers.

The U.S. military is also active in drug interdiction by working with foreign militaries and law enforcement agencies in many drug-producing countries. It provides intelligence, strategic planning, and training for antidrug operations in several Latin American countries,
such as Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia. A key element of the military's anti-drug program in Latin America is its Tactical Analysis Teams (TATs), made up of a small number of U.S. Special Forces and military intelligence personnel. These teams gather intelligence and
plan operations that are carried out by host nations and DEA agents.