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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The Obama administration has unveiled a new plan to fight drug trafficking in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands amid concerns that the flow of cocaine from the Caribbean to the U.S. has more than doubled in the past three years.
It is the first federal plan of its kind that outlines the steps federal authorities are taking and will take to crack down on drug trafficking specifically in both U.S. territories.
The plan released Friday found that some 100 tons (91 metric tons) of cocaine flowed through the Caribbean in 2013 — more than double the 42 tons (38 metric tons) in 2011.
Officials attributed the increase in part to tougher surveillance along the U.S.-Mexico border and the success of go-fast boats from South America to the Caribbean.