By Alyssa LeVasseur – Contributor
The scene is a typical afternoon in a quiet small neighborhood of houses where children regularly play outside and everyone knows each other’s name. A parent is currently playing with a drone and everyone thinks it is done to amuse the neighborhood kids. The awestruck children are fascinated by the drone but have no idea on the real reason why it is being used. The reality is that this person is not playing with the drone in order to impress the kids. Nope. In this scenario, the real reason is to test the drone and figure out if it is capable of carrying a pack of drugs while flying to its destination. This is how the rent is getting paid for this family in the close-knit community. Drug trafficking is an act where desperate people take dangerous risks in order to provide for their families with the demon of greed sitting on their shoulders. It reminds them how much money they can obtain but it is executed at a risky and lethal cost to society.
Narcoterrorism is a growing threat and these people are highly susceptible to becoming primary targets by terrorist organizations who want them to traffic their drugs into the U.S. This is why the threat to U.S. National Security in this instance are terrorist organizations who seek out these individuals that help them supply the population with their drugs, which ultimately is being used to help fund their cause. This also heightens the alert of individuals contaminating the public sector governance of areas such as water, food, and agriculture. The combination of drug traffickers and terrorist organizations equals to them as being the equivalent to a dream team. However, for the rest of society, it is a deadly threat to our national security.
The drug trafficking issue is not just about drugs being brought into our country. It is about being in a battle with our own citizens. For example, a Southwest Airlines baggage handler with accomplices had transported drugs into the Oakland airport before they were finally caught in 2013. These handlers were paid between $500 – $800 per trip. What really hits home in cases where our own security agents crossed the line is that they dishonored their jobs by trafficking drugs through the borders in order to make money. The end result is that it adds to the lack of public trust in the U.S. government’s ability to keep its citizens safe. Can we blame them?
The National Drug Institute collected data in January 2019 that showed that the number of drug overdoses in the United States was over 70,237 as of 2017. Breaking down that chart, we see that the number of heroin overdoses was 15,482; cocaine overdoses was 13,942; prescriptive opioids was 17,029; methamphetamine was 10,333; antidepressants was 5,269; and benzodiazepines was 11,527. As these numbers rise quickly, we are witnessing that illegal drug manufacturers and traffickers are pumping out a product at a quicker rate than before and with no concern about the harm they are promoting.
The battle to protect our citizens does not just stem from individuals within our country but outside of it as well. Drones, drug tunnels, narco subs, catapults, automobiles, airports, food, and individuals are constantly being used each day to smuggle illegal narcotics over our borders. In addition, drug traffickers are becoming bolder, especially when it comes to smuggling them across the border. Law enforcement is constantly finding drug catapults used by the traffickers left behind the borders. There are also more instances where drug traffickers are less secretive about their operations.
One example of the extent on how broad the war on narcotics extends into neighboring regions is the very recent seizure of 25.75 tons of fentanyl in August 2019 by the Mexican navy. The fentanyl originated from Shanghai, China and was being smuggled in a Dutch cargo ship with a destination to the Sinaloa Cartel home base of Culiacán, Sinaloa in Mexico, which would most likely be smuggled into the United States. A few days prior, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in Arizona had the agencies largest confiscation of fentanyl that equaled around 1.1 million illegally produced fentanyl pills. This literally tripled the DEA’s 2018 record of fentanyl seizures in total.
In conclusion, the United States citizens should be able to feel safe and secure in their surroundings. They should not have to worry if or when they are going somewhere, nor be constantly alerted, and worry if the environment or even if their own homes are safe. At this moment there is no sure solution on putting a stop to these illegal activities completely. Preparedness programs are created for communities, so they can feel safer such as CPR, First Aid, teaching children how to identify the “Bad Drugs” and stay away from those who are offering them. Raising awareness is one of the most powerful instruments that we can use that can help prevent people from making bad decisions that actually support narcoterrorism and drug trafficking activity.
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Alyssa LeVasseur is currently a First Responder and recently received her Associates in Weapons of Mass Destruction Preparedness from American Military University (AMU), which is part of the American Public University System (APUS). She is currently working towards her Bachelor’s degree in Homeland Security with a certificate in terrorism. Alyssa is also an elected official in the Society for Defense and Strategic Studies (SDSS) as well as an Ambassador for American Military University.
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