RUSI Supports the EU’s Cocaine Route Programme

The Royal United Services Institute is engaged in a major programme of work to support EU action on drug trafficking and organised crime in Latin America, the Caribbean and West Africa.

Trafficking in cocaine is a lucrative industry for organised crime groups. Using the Caribbean and West Africa used as transit hubs, criminal organisations have cast their net over a large geographical area spanning from the producer countries in the coca belt of Bolivia, Peru and Colombia to the European consumer market.

The EU’s Cocaine Route Programme builds capacity and supports cooperation of law enforcement and judicial authorities in West Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean to combat transnational criminal organisations. With a budget of €50 million, the Cocaine Route Programme is one of the EU’s flagship programmes on organised crime and is designed to promote good governance and the rule of law in a multi-regional context.

In support of the Programme, RUSI is implementing the Cocaine Route Monitoring and Support Project. This project aims to increase synergies between all components of the Cocaine Route Programme, as well as improve coordination with other initiatives carried out by the EU in the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking. 

The project builds on RUSI’s established expertise on organised crime and drug trafficking. The two year project will be undertaken by experts in RUSI’s National Security and Resilience Team based in Brussels and London, with regular research missions in Latin America, the Caribbean and West Africa.

To visit the joint programme, go to: www.cocaineroute.eu