convergence

Combating Transnational Organized Crime
Moreover, the traditional emphasis on counterdrug missions will also continue to shift
due to the blurring of illicit narcotics production and trafficking and other forms of transnational
crime. Criminal networks that traffic in drugs more often than not also deal in small
arms, light weapons, precursor chemicals, people, or bulk cash. This is certainly the case of
organized crime groups such as Los Zetas, the Sinaloa Cartel, and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13),
which operate across the Western Hemisphere and have tentacles reaching into Europe and
Asia, and the illicit networks that crisscross Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and Central Asia.
Not all transnational criminal organizations undertake the full spectrum of illegal activity,
but it is increasingly rare to see major crime groups confine their business strictly to one type
of criminality.
Spectrum of Support
The evolution of many drug-trafficking organizations into diversified criminal groups has
driven a shift in DOD’s mission focus. The Department now provides support to law enforcement,
other U.S. Government agencies, and foreign partners across a spectrum of operations
and activities: military-to-military assistance, capacity-building and training to partner states,
intelligence support to law enforcement, support to the development of institutions that convene
interagency stakeholders in whole-of-government approaches to combating the national
security threats TOC present, and, as a last resort, direct military action against terrorist or
insurgent groups that also engage in crime. DOD is not often the most visible government
agency combating transnational organized crime, and this is entirely proper for a Department
in a supporting role. But the lack of attention it receives for its efforts against TOC does not
diminish the importance of its contributions.
The extent and success of DOD support in the fight against TOC are best understood
through examples at various points on the spectrum.
Military-to-Military Support
In the 1980s and 1990s, Colombia faced a full-blown challenge to the viability of the state.
Several armed criminal-insurgent groups waged an active campaign against the government,
engaging in major terrorist attacks, kidnapping, extortion, and all phases of the drug trade. In
the late 1990s, there was widespread belief that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) would seize Bogota. For 20 years, Colombian drug-trafficking organizations exported
cocaine to the United States in staggering quantities, and it appeared almost impossible to
make a dent in the drug trafficking and organized crime emanating from that country.
Over time, however, the political will among Colombian leaders, supported by a sustained
U.S. Government interagency effort, resulted in a remarkable impact against the FARC and
related criminal-insurgent activity in Colombia. DOD was a vital enabler of Colombia’s success,
helping its security forces overcome critical capability gaps. The Department’s sustained
counternarcotics and security assistance delivered military training, tactical and operational
support, capacity-building on intelligence sharing, and information operations, equipment,
and human rights training. The Department’s engagements assisted the Colombian military
in turning the tide against the FARC and other violent criminal groups that sought to capture
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