Which Caribbean islands are most frequently used as transshipment points for drug boats?
Executive summary
Traffickers use a wide set of Caribbean islands as transshipment nodes; published analyses and official strategy documents repeatedly name the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Puerto Rico/US Virgin Islands, Aruba and Curaçao, and several British Overseas Territories including the BVI, Montserrat and Anguilla as frequently used points [1] [2] [3] [4]. United Nations and regional reporting also highlight Haiti’s fast-growing role after recent large seizures, while U.S. policy papers stress Puerto Rico and the USVI’s particular attractiveness because of customs-free and direct-logistics links to the mainland [5] [3].
1. Geography and logistics make islands ideal relay points
The Caribbean’s central location between South America, the U.S. and Europe, together with numerous small ports, beaches and relatively porous coastlines, creates obvious logistical advantages for maritime transshipment; U.S. government strategy documents single out Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for their “customs‑free” access and direct shipment links to the continental U.S., making them attractive initial entry and transshipment points [3]. CSIS notes that weak governance, corruption and limited interdiction capacity across the region have helped traffickers turn islands into stepping stones toward Europe and the United States [1].
2. Islands repeatedly named in recent open-source reporting
Analysts and policy institutes consistently cite a set of islands and territories as common transshipment hubs: the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Suriname are called out by CSIS as playing significant roles, while Aruba and Curaçao are described as onward links to the Netherlands or further eastern Caribbean transshipment nodes [1] [2]. Historical U.S. hearings and government reporting also identify Puerto Rico and Haiti as longstanding transshipment points [4] [2].
3. Haiti’s role: emerging hub after big seizures
Recent UN and media reporting point to a rapidly increasing role for Haiti in regional trafficking. A UN assessment after record seizures off Haiti’s northern coast described the country as “emerging as a major Caribbean drug hub,” and cited a July 2025 interception of 1,045 kg near Île de la Tortue as its largest bust in decades [5]. The UN’s assessment linked trafficking growth to transnational criminal networks exploiting weak institutional capacity [5].
4. European territories and the transatlantic route
Traffickers exploit European territories in the Caribbean as well. CSIS highlights the British Overseas Territories (British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Anguilla) and the Dutch Caribbean (Aruba, Curaçao) as nodes used to reach European markets—Aruba and Curaçao are specifically identified as launch points to the Netherlands or as onward transshipment stops [1] [2]. These routes reflect traffickers’ preference for jurisdictions with commercial flights/sea links to Europe and variable port controls [2].
5. Scale, displacement and policy response
Large-scale seizures and targeted operations have caused temporary route disruption, but analysts warn interdiction alone rarely eliminates supply. Historical and contemporary commentary argues that interdiction can displace flows to other islands or routes unless pressure reaches the wider infrastructure that supports transshipment—clandestine airstrips, non-state ports and corrupt networks [6]. The Biden administration’s Caribbean counternarcotics strategy and recent U.S. naval deployments reflect a policy emphasis on reducing regional transshipment capacity [3] [7].
6. Competing viewpoints and gaps in public reporting
Sources agree on a core set of islands but differ on emphasis and metrics: policy documents stress Puerto Rico/USVI vulnerabilities because of legal-logistics linkages [3], CSIS places the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Suriname among significant transshipment players and highlights British/Dutch territories’ roles for Europe-bound shipments [1] [2]. The UN and news outlets have recently foregrounded Haiti’s escalating role [5]. Available sources do not provide a ranked, quantitative list of “most frequently used” islands by number of transshipment incidents; detailed seizure-by-location maps exist in the UNODC World Drug Report maps but specific frequency rankings are not summarized in the provided excerpts [8].
7. What this means for readers and policymakers
The region’s diversity—sovereign states, overseas territories, free-trade zones and countless small islets—gives traffickers many options. Effective disruption requires multinational intelligence, anti-corruption efforts and targeting of physical infrastructure as much as maritime interdiction; analysts caution that military or interdiction-heavy campaigns risk simply shifting routes unless paired with measures to undermine the enabling networks [6] [1]. Recent high-profile operations and seizures have exposed hubs and pressured traffickers, but they do not, by themselves, offer evidence of permanent route closure [7] [5].
Limitations: this synthesis uses only the supplied sources; it reports named islands and policy emphasis found in them and notes where the sources do not provide quantitative rankings or exhaustive lists [8] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5].