Operation Panama Express is a long-running Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) comprising participants from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the United States Coast Guard and the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.
According to a March 2006 Congressional testimony by DEA Chief of Operations Michael Braun, Operation Panama Express has resulted in the seizure of 350 metric tons (392 tons) of cocaine and the arrests of 1,107 individuals. The OCDETF is based in Tampa, Florida and focuses primarily on interrupting cocaine shipments en route from South America, especially Colombia.
On September 13, 2008 the U.S. Coast Guard captured a narco submarine about 563 kilometres (350 mi) west of Guatemala; it was carrying seven tons of cocaine. The 59-foot-long, steel and fiberglass craft was detected by a U.S. Navy aircraft as part of Operation Panama Express.
Read more about Operation Panama Express: Joaquin Mario Valencia-Trujillo
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