convergence

Chapter 13
The Department of Defense’s Role in
Combating Transnational Organized Crime
William F. Wechsler and Gary Barnabo
Transnational organized crime (TOC) is altering the face of national security and changing
the character of the battlespace. Loose networks of criminals operate across international
boundaries with impunity, and their actions are more violent, deadly, and destabilizing
than in any previous time. Once viewed primarily through the lens of law enforcement as
drug cartels, transnational criminal organizations now engage in a web of overlapping illegal
activities, from cybercrime to trafficking in persons, money laundering, and distribution of
materials for weapons of mass destruction. As the power and influence of these organizations
have grown, their ability to undermine, corrode, and destabilize governments has increased.
The links forged among criminal groups, terrorist movements, and insurgencies have resulted
in a new type of adversary: hybrid, ever-evolving networks that are criminal, violent, and, at
times, politically motivated and blend into the landscape of a globalization-dominated world.
Hybrid networks adapt their structures and activities faster than countries can combat their
threats. These adversaries have become the new normal, compelling governments toward
integrated, innovative approaches to countering the growing dangers posed by transnational
organized crime.
The Character of Transnational Organized Crime
For decades, drug trafficking was the dominant lens through which the United States viewed
TOC. In the 1970s and 1980s, the flow of illicit narcotics into the United States was deemed
a major risk to the health and safety of Americans, and the government expended massive
resources to curtail both the supply of and the demand for illegal drugs. Supply side reduction
strategies emphasized degrading the capabilities of Western Hemisphere drug-trafficking
organizations—highly capable, violent, centralized, and hierarchical organizations often led
by charismatic kingpins. Pablo Escobar and the Medellín Cartel, for example, were emblematic
of the type of threat facing the United States.
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