HomeNewsBriefEl Salvador's Truck Watchlist Adds Tool to Drug Fight
BRIEF

El Salvador's Truck Watchlist Adds Tool to Drug Fight

EL SALVADOR / 9 SEP 2013 BY CHARLES PARKINSON EN

El Salvador authorities have begun compiling a list of freight companies thought to be involved in drug smuggling, though on its own the measure seems unlikely to have much impact on the trade.

According to the Salvadoran customs authority (DGA), 152 of the country's freight companies are "at risk" of involvement in trafficking based on frequent or repeated drug seizures from their vehicles. Of those, 76 are considered "high risk" and the other 76 "medium risk," reported La Prensa Grafica.

Several of the companies are linked to ten seizures which turned up a total of 966 kilograms of cocaine and $366,000, according to the newspaper. No arrests or legal proceedings against the companies resulted from those seizures.

Raul Alfaro, president of the country's International Freight Carriers Association (ASTIC), admitted many Salvadoran transport companies were involved in drug trafficking. According to a freight driver interviewed by La Prensa Grafica, company owners and managers were often responsible for drugs hidden in vehicles, a claim bolstered by transport union representatives in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, who questioned how companies could charge fees lower than their operational costs to transport legal goods.

According to La Prensa Grafica, no Salvadoran transport company has faced prosecution for drug smuggling since 2008. Honduras is the only other country in the region with plans to compile a similar list.

InSight Crime Analysis

While some drivers of trucks concealing drugs have been prosecuted, La Prensa Grafica's piece illustrates how generally there has been near total impunity. Any attempts by El Salvador to remedy that should thus be welcomed.

However, such a measure is unlikely to work alone. First, the police corruption and judicial inefficiency that allow drug transporters or even kingpins to walk free after being caught in the act are not going to magically disappear now that authorities have a list of suspects. Second, as is the case with much of the region's counternarcotics efforts, the watchlist targets those lower down the chain of command rather than attacking the criminal organizations who direct the transhipment operations -- although some "transportistas" do go on to become major players.

Finally, even if the watchlist does lead to more seizures and more prosecutions, it will not stop the flow of drugs north. Traffickers will simply find other forms of transport or new routes if law enforcement on El Salvador's highways creates too much of a headache.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

CRIMINAL MIGRATION / 23 MAR 2023

Nelson Alexander Flores Pacheco, alias "Mula", was the liaison between the Mexican Mafia and the MS13 in Tijuana, Mexico.

BRAZIL / 24 MAR 2022

The 2021 ranking of the world's most violent cities predictably features a heavy presence by Latin American and Caribbean population…

EL SALVADOR / 3 OCT 2022

Extortion in the Northern Triangle is predominantly done from prisons, yet prison populations have been on the rise.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.