National Southwest Border Counter-narcotics (NSWBCN) Strategy Report

This report analyzes the National Southwest Border Counter-narcotics (NSWBCN) Strategy, highlighting its origins in response to the complexities of drug, weapon, and human trafficking across the Southwest border. The strategy, an expansion of the Merida Initiative, focuses on reducing illegal drug flows, disrupting drug trafficking organizations, and interdicting weapons and illicit funds. Key components include intelligence utilization, interdiction of drug proceeds, technological advancements, and promoting US-Mexico cooperation. The report draws parallels to the film Act of Valor, emphasizing the need for comprehensive approaches and resources. It also addresses the threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and the importance of a coordinated national policy to assess and mitigate this risk. References to relevant documents and research are also included.

Running head: NSWBCN
National Southwest Border Counter-narcotics (NSWBCN) Strategy (2011).
Student’s Name
Institution
Date

NSWBCN 2
Part 1
NSWBCN Strategy was proposed following realization that drug and corruption
operatives can be very complex such that it is not easy to focus on one suspected activity and
conclude that the issue of drug trafficking, weapon trafficking and even human trafficking has
been addressed (Border, 2012). NSWBCN is an expansion of Merida initiative. NSWBCN helps
to reduce the flow of illegal drugs, circulation of money related to drugs, and associated
instruments of violence across the Southwest border. Its key components include efficient use of
the intelligent information, interdiction of drug proceeds, disrupting drug trafficking
organizations, interdiction of flow of weapons, sustain air and maritime monitoring and
utilization of modern counter drug technologies, tunnel strategy, promotion of joint US- Mexico
cooperation towards counter-narcotics as well as sensitizing communities to resist use of drugs.
Part 2
Just like the experienced from the movie Act of Valor, most of the drug trafficking is like
a wide enterprise whereby each suspect is like a subset of complex system (FATF 2008). In the
movie Act of Valor, for example, the United States Soldiers managed to trace virtually every
lifeline of the terrorist network. This could not be achieved if they lacked the valor and
patriotism. For example, when rescuing a kidnapped person reveals a deadly terrorist conspiracy
against the United States, soldiers are sent to stop the attack, which could kill thousands of
civilians. However, when the heroes of the film “The Law of Valor” manage to restore order at
this point, they receive a message about an upcoming similar plot from a completely different
region. Moving from Chechnya to the Philippines and from Ukraine to Somalia, commandos
trace the terrorist chain to the borders with Mexico, where they are destined to find themselves in
a fierce battle, which will have grave consequences for the future of all of America. NSWBCN is

NSWBCN 3
designed to analogize the act of valor displayed by the United States soldiers in the movie Act of
Valor. That is why it is associated with unprecedented increases in technology, personnel, and
resources.
Threat of WMD
The worst imagination is a case where terrorist get access and starts using weapons of
mass destruction. This imagination sends chilling message to anyone who understand the
magnitude of destructive effects of WMD. After the replication of the pictures of the global
catastrophe during the confrontation between the USA and the USSR, the use of nuclear
weapons became one of the main nightmares of mass consciousness and the dream of many
terrorists (Isacson & Meyer 2012). A considerable shock in the world was caused by the gas
attack of 1993 in the Tokyo subway. How realistic are the scenarios for the use of weapons of
mass destruction by terrorist groups? And what consequences can “super-attacks” have with the
use of “dirty bombs”, biological and chemical WMD?
Consequently, the NSWBCN Strategy deemed very important to have comprehensive,
fully-coordinated national policy that adequately assess the level of this threat and the real
possibilities for the use of such weapons by terrorist organizations UNODC (2015). Even then, the
NSWBCN is far from perfect. There are numerous loopholes that are associated with corruption,
lack of proper coordination among agencies, the community reluctance to cooperate and WMD

NSWBCN 4
References
Border, S. (2012). National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy Implementation
Update. Retrieved from: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ondcp/swb_implementation10.pdf
FATF (2008). Best Practices Paper Best Practices on Trade Based Money Laundering.
Retrieved from: https://www.fatf-gafi.org/media/fatf/documents/recommendations/BPP
%20Trade%20Based%20Money%20Laundering%202012%20COVER.pdf
Isacson A. & Meyer M. (2012). Beyond the Border Buildup. Security and Migrants Along the
US-Mexico Border. - Washington DC: Washington Office on Latin America.
Ivanov E. (2018). AML/CFT and anti-corruption compliance regulation: two parallel roads?
IACA Research Paper Series No. 2/2018:
http://iaca.int/images/Research/Research_paper_02_Eduard_Ivanov_final.pdf
UNODC (2015). Making the world safer from drugs, crime and terrorism. Retrieved from:
https://www.unodc.org/documents/brussels/EU-UNODC_10_Years_Brochure/EU-UNODC-
brochure_WEB.pdf