convergence

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a result of globalization, the sheer volume and velocity of international trade make it virtually
impossible to control and secure global supply chains. Nevertheless, governments must keep
abreast of the ways illicit actors are exploiting the increasingly borderless world and identify
the vulnerabilities of global supply chains. Accordingly, governments must develop measures
to combat illicit networks by leveraging and safeguarding the four critical elements of supply
chains: materiel, manpower, money, and mechanisms. New strategies to combat transnational
organized crime and illicit networks, including those discussed below, are increasingly
addressing these challenges.
Figure 2. Global Supply Chain Management
Four Critical Elements
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Materiel Manpower
What Is Moving?
Who Is Moving?
What Resources Are Accessed?
Who Is in Control?
How Is Technology Used?
Who Is Enabling?
Money Mechanisms
Who Is Funding?
What Modes of Conveyance?
How Is Revenue Generated?
Land, Air, Sea Routes?
Where Is Money Going?
What about Cyberspace?
Strategies to Combat Transnational Organized Crime and Illicit Networks
Governments at the local, national, regional, and multilateral levels must devise holistic strategies
to address the complex, adaptive, and converging transnational security threats from illicit
networks. Several efforts are underway to promote interagency and international collaboration
to address transnational organized crime and illicit networks and promote security in the
Western Hemisphere. These regional efforts will be examined through the lenses of national
strategy, diplomacy, development, and defense and security.
The May 2010 National Security Strategy aptly acknowledges and describes the convergence
of threats posed by illicit networks:
Transnational criminal threats and illicit trafficking networks continue to expand
dramatically in size, scope, and influence—posing significant national security challenges
for the United States and our partner countries. These threats cross borders and
continents and undermine the stability of nations, subverting government institutions
through corruption and harming citizens worldwide. Transnational criminal organizations
have accumulated unprecedented wealth and power through trafficking and other
illicit activities, penetrating legitimate financial systems and destabilizing commercial
markets. They extend their reach by forming alliances with government officials and
some state security services. The crime-terror nexus is a serious concern as terrorists
use criminal networks for logistical support and funding. Increasingly, these networks