November 2000

OPERATION LIBERATOR

On November 19, 2000, the DEA concluded Operation Liberator, a multi-national regional operation, whose primary objectives was to:

1. Disrupt trafficking activities in the Caribbean and South America region;
2. Consolidate counterdrug efforts in the Caribbean transit zone;
3. Continue to develop a comprehensive regional strategy; and
4. Develop a cohesive/cooperative environment among source and transit countries.

DEA and local law enforcement carried out thousands of raids over the three weeks of Operation Liberator. These raids were a major disruption for a number of trafficking organizations.

The operation, which began on October 27, 2000, involved 33 countries. The DEA Caribbean Field Division in Puerto Rico served as the coordination center for information collection, collation, and dissemination. Additionally, the Unified Caribbean On-line Regional Network (UNICORN) was used to facilitate the exchange and dissemination of strategic, operational, and tactical information to all participating law enforcement entities within the participating countries. The DEA’s Santo Domingo and Port-au-Spain Country Offices served as the northern and southern command centers for the duration of the operation.

Thousands of searches were carried out during three weeks of raids. Several of the individuals arrested were leaders of major drug trafficking organizations, such as Martires Pauline Castro, who was suspected of running a trafficking network from St. Martin to New York, and shipping two tons of Colombian cocaine to the United States each month.

Countries that collaborated with DEA on this operation included Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Haiti, Ecuador, El Salvador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Panama, Belize, Honduras, Suriname, St. Lucia, Guyana, Colombia, Honduras, Antigua, French Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago, and the Caymen Islands.