Joint Interagency Task Force-South

Joint Interagency Task Force-South

Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-South) is well known within the U.S. Government as the “gold standard” for interagency cooperation and intelligence fusion, despite its preference for keeping a low profile and giving other agencies the credit for its successes. It is often cited as a model for whole-of-government problem-solving in the literature on interagency collaboration, and other national security organizations have tried to copy its approach and successes (Kevin, 2008). Despite the plaudits and attention, the way that JIATF-South actually operates has only received superficial analysis. In fact, few people actually understand why JIATF-South works as well as it does or how its success might be replicated.

In 2009, a single U.S. Government organization accounted for more than 40 percent of global cocaine interdiction. It coordinated the disruption of approximately 220 tons of cocaine, with disruption defined as the unrecoverable loss of the drugs through direct seizure, forced jettisoning by the trafficker, or other courses of action. During the same time, the rest of the U.S. Government seized only 40 tons. Over the past 20 years, the same organization has arrested some 4,600 traffickers, captured nearly 1,100 vessels, and deprived drug cartels of $190 billion in profits. Although the importance of drug interdiction as opposed to other counterdrug programs and activities may be debated, it is clear that this organization—JIATF-South—is a matchless operational success. Within the U.S. Government it has earned a reputation as the “gold standard” and “crown jewel” of interagency cooperation and intelligence fusion (Christopher & Evan , 2011).

The JIATF's mission within the U.S. Southern Command AOR is to plan, conduct, and direct interagency detection, monitoring, and sorting operations of air and maritime drug smuggling activities; plan and conduct flexible operations to detect, monitor, disrupt and deter the cultivation, production and transportation of illicit narcotics; utilize and integrate C4I systems to efficiently coordinate operations and intelligence information with other counterdrug centers, law enforcement agencies, and domestic and international counterdrug partners; and collect, fuse, and disseminate counterdrug information from all participating agencies to the detection and monitoring forces for tactical action.

Joint Interagency Task Force (JIATF) East was created as a result of Presidential Decision Directive 14 which ordered a review of the nation's command and control and intelligence centers involved in international counternarcotics operations. On 7 April 1994, Dr. Lee Brown, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, signed the National Interdiction Command and Control Plan which directed establishment of three national interagency task forces (JIATF East in Key West, Florida; JIATF South in Panama; and JIATF West in Alameda, California) and the Domestic Air Interdiction Coordination Center at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California (James, 2010).

JIATF East was formed by integrating additional law enforcement personnel into the former Joint Task Force Four (JTF-4) organization which was officially formed 22 February 1989 under the direction of the U. S. Commander in Chief Atlantic. On 1 June 1997, the Commander in Chief U. S. Southern Command expanded his area of responsibility ...