Drug trafficking routes connect South America to Europe via the Caribbean

International drug trafficking organizations are utilizing complex maritime routes to transport cocaine from South America to Europe, with the Dominican Republic serving as a key transit point. Traffickers utilize various methods to evade detection, including changing vessels, hiding drugs within legal cargo containers, and employing the ‘medio palo’ tactic, where shipments are distributed among multiple smaller boats to mimic local fishing activity.

Security agencies, such as the Dominican National Drug Control Directorate (DNCD), focus interdiction efforts on the southern coast, specifically in areas like Pedernales, Barahona, and Baní. To minimize risk, criminal groups are increasingly prioritizing logistical security over economic cost or distance. This has led to the emergence of counterintuitive routes, such as using ports in the Southern Cone, including Buenos Aires and Montevideo, as logistical hubs for the re-exportation of cocaine to global markets, despite their distance from primary production centers in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.