The 13th edition of the Orion Naval Campaign ended after 45 days of operations in which 125 institutions and 62 countries from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and, for the first time, Oceania participated. On this occasion, participating forces seized more than 400 tons of drugs, thanks to the exchange of intelligence and the cumulation of capabilities to counter the illicit trafficking of drugs and other illegal activities linked to narcotrafficking.
“We reached record figures in narcotics seizure, reducing the supply worldwide and dealing significant blows to the finances of multi-crime organizations, preventing them from receiving more than $18.7 billion,” Admiral Francisco Hernando Cubides Granados, commander of the Colombian Military Forces, told the press as he presented the results of the latest version of the campaign, carried out every six months. The next version will begin in December.
“We managed to seize 2,000 tons of [drug] stash, consolidated in 196 tons of cocaine hydrochloride and 162 tons of marijuana,” Adm. Cubides said, highlighting two of the drugs seized. Authorities also seized 41 tons of hashish, nearly 2 tons of coca base, and 80,000 methamphetamine pills, the Colombian Navy said in a statement.
The Orion Naval Campaign, carried out since 2018, is the fruit of the trust, respect for doctrines, procedures, and leadership of the Navy and the Colombian Military Forces, which have gained international recognition, Adm. Cubides said. “I must recognize the work of the crew members of the different units, as well as the prosecutors, investigators, who in each country have advanced the different processes in accordance with their procedures, to be able to prosecute and bring to justice this great number of criminals, as well as the seizure of important stash [of drugs].”
Authorities seized a total of 402 tons of solid chemical precursors and 1.6 million liters of liquid chemical precursors and destroyed 302 illegal infrastructures used for the extraction and processing of drugs. The Colombian Navy reported that 112 boats, 211 vehicles, nine semisubmersibles, and five aircrafts, used by criminal organizations of different nationalities, were intercepted and handed over to the competent authorities for prosecution.
“I must especially mention a work that Brazil and Paraguay undertook during this Orion Naval Campaign, and that is the interdiction of 1,689 tons of marijuana,” Adm. Cubides said.
“Additionally, for the first time in the history of this multinational strategy, we seized two semisubmersibles in Guyana, thanks to valuable information provided by the Colombian Navy intelligence,” the Colombian Navy said in a statement.
“We started six years ago with only narcotrafficking. Since Orion XII, we have included other crimes that are present in the maritime and land domain as well, such as arms and migrant trafficking, smuggling, money laundering, illegal fishing, and mining,” Adm. Cubides said. “In related results we have saved the lives of 97 immigrants, we affected 28 illegal mining structures, we also managed to seize 38 tons of fish, I insist, [we seized] $227,000 in smuggled goods and $127,000 in money laundering.”
The Orion Naval Campaign also cemented the creation of the Orion International Judicial Network, together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, with the purpose of seizing drugs, weapons, currency, and capturing the criminals who led these networks. As an example, the coordination between the prosecutors’ offices of Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica to gather information on four judicial cases, helped to strengthen their investigations.
“The 13 editions of the Orion Naval Campaign have consolidated it as the most important and influential international cooperation strategy in the global fight against narcotrafficking, and it has also managed to transcend in time, thanks to innovation and rapid adaptation to respond to this highly complex and changing phenomenon,” Adm. Cubides concluded.
