Cartels Shift Drug Routes to Caribbean Amid Crackdown

Quintana Roo, Mexico — Following increased surveillance of Pacific ports, criminal organizations now prefer the “Caribbean Route,” with Quintana Roo serving as a critical link in the operation to transport South American drugs to the United States.

Shift in Drug Trafficking Routes

Researchers specializing in narcotics trafficking have observed and confirmed that Caribbean drug routes in the Americas have strengthened in recent months. This shift is a direct result of heightened surveillance, cooperation, and operational effectiveness in preventing the movement of large drug shipments along the Pacific coast.

Investigations have identified Venezuela, Colombia, and Mexico as the primary countries facilitating drug shipments through coastal drops, the use of speedboats, and, more recently, semi-submersibles or remotely operated submarines, such as the one intercepted in the Colombian Caribbean days ago.

The Caribbean Sea route, historically a focal point for both legal and illegal maritime trade, has regained prominence in drug trafficking. This route was heavily utilized by major Colombian and Mexican cartels in the 1980s. However, under pressure from U.S. authorities, traffickers shifted their operations to the Pacific and overland routes through Central America, while also increasing aerial shipments directly to Honduras.

The crackdown on these routes, including border closures, has revived the Caribbean pathway, particularly due to Colombia’s drastic increase in cocaine production. This surplus has exploited Venezuela’s crisis to facilitate transit to the Caribbean and major markets in the U.S. and Europe.

Key Developments

1. Change in Routes: From the Pacific to the Caribbean

Due to increased military and intelligence pressure along the Pacific coast (Colombia, Ecuador, Central America, and Mexico), Mexican and Colombian cartels have diverted shipments to the Caribbean. Speedboats, semi-submersibles, and even sailboats are now used to transport drugs from Venezuela, Colombia, and Suriname to the Antilles, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the Yucatán Peninsula. From there, the drugs enter the U.S. or are shipped to Europe.

2. Surge in International Operations

The U.S. has intensified its military presence in the region through the Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), deploying additional ships, drones, and patrol aircraft. Aruba, Curaçao, and the Dominican Republic are actively cooperating with the DEA, U.S. Coast Guard, and European forces (France and the Netherlands) to intercept shipments at sea. Mexico has also increased surveillance along its Caribbean coasts.

3. Venezuela’s Collapse as a Key Hub

The Cartel of the Suns, allegedly led by high-ranking officials in Venezuela’s Bolivarian Armed Forces, has turned the country into a narcotrafficking highway, collaborating with the Sinaloa Cartel and the Gulf Clan. The most frequently used routes depart from eastern (Delta Amacuro, Sucre) and western (Zulia, Falcón) regions.

Haiti, lacking state control, has also become an unmonitored transshipment point, raising alarms in the international community.

4. Increased Cocaine Production Drives Maritime Trafficking

Colombia faces a historic overproduction of cocaine, overwhelming land and air routes. The consequence: a surge in maritime trafficking, greater risks, and heightened international patrols.

5. Who Protects These Narco-States?

While the U.S. and Europe ramp up efforts, Venezuela’s criminal power structure retains powerful allies. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has maintained the permissive policies of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The country is experiencing a brutal wave of cartel violence, with entire towns under cartel control.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has turned a blind eye, while Venezuelan generals coordinate operations with dissident FARC and ELN factions, using border states like Apure, Táchira, and Zulia to move drugs and weapons. Petro does not combat the issue—he protects it.

The result? Silence, complicity, and impunity. Today, a regional network of narco-states, guerrillas, and cartels operates under the shield of diplomatic and political rhetoric, while communities suffer displacement, violence, poverty, and repression.

Major Interceptions

Remote-Controlled Narco-Submarine Seized in Colombian Caribbean

On April 1, the Colombian Navy detected a remote-controlled narco-submarine near Tayrona National Park. The vessel had a capacity of 1.5 tons of cocaine and was equipped with Starlink satellite technology. This marked the first such discovery in Colombian waters as part of Operation Orion, which has seized over 2,300 tons of drugs globally in the first half of the year.

Massive Drug Seizure at Sea

On July 2, the U.S. Coast Guard intercepted approximately 2,220 pounds of cocaine and 3,320 pounds of marijuana in four operations across the Caribbean. The efforts involved U.S., Canadian, and Dutch forces, including an operation off the Venezuelan coast.