"NarcoDrones fly across #Latin American skies, with lethal payloads"
Future Warfare Magazine
Issue: 01/2026
Published: Https://fw-mag.com/
Showing posts with label drugs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drugs. Show all posts
Thursday, February 26, 2026
Thursday, February 15, 2024
CIMSEC: The Vibrant Military (and Criminal) Activities Across the Caribbean Sea
"The Vibrant Military (and Criminal) Activities Across the Caribbean Sea"
Wilder Alejandro Sanchez
The Southern Tide
Center for International Maritime Security
15 February 2024
Originally published: https://cimsec.org/the-vibrant-military-and-criminal-activities-across-the-caribbean-sea/
While the Caribbean Sea is currently not as dangerous as the Black Sea or the Red Sea, from combating drug trafficking and illegal fishing to humanitarian assistance/disaster relief operations to a belligerent Nicolas Maduro regime in Venezuela, Caribbean naval forces have many daily missions and priorities. The United States, via US Southern Command and the US Coast Guard, and the armed forces of France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom – which have overseas territories across the Caribbean – are all present across Caribbean waters and are critical partners of regional defense forces.
This commentary briefly summarizes the joint military Caribbean exercises scheduled for 2024 and other recent high-level meetings to understand the concrete actions regional armed forces are carrying out to tackle the region’s threats and challenges.
Monday, August 7, 2023
Breaking Defense: "South American militaries take aim at narco trafficking with new radars, exercises"
"South American militaries take aim at narco trafficking with new radars, exercise"
Wilder Alejandro Sanchez
Air Warfare, Global
Breaking Defense
7 August, 2023
Originally published: https://breakingdefense.com/2023/08/south-american-militaries-take-aim-at-narco-trafficking-with-new-radars-exercises/
Several nations are buying or installing new radars or sending new planes in the air in hopes of better tracking drug transshipments.
Friday, June 2, 2023
Militant Wire: Ecuador Confronts a Storm of Violence
"Ecuador Confronts a Storm of Violence"
Wilder Alejandro Sanchez
Militant Wire
01 June, 2023
Originally published: https://www.militantwire.com/p/ecuador-confronts-a-storm-of-violence
Ecuador is experiencing a wave of violence. The armed forces have
been sent to the streets to support police forces to maintain control
and peace. However, an incident in late April, in which over ten people
were killed and several injured during a shootout in Guayaquil,
demonstrates that the Ecuadorian defense and security forces have a long
war ahead of them.
To worsen the situation, the
violence occurs during a period of political turmoil, as President
Guillermo Lasso announced on 17 May his decision to dissolve the opposition-controlled National Assembly and call for early elections.
Thursday, April 16, 2020
CIMSEC: Rising to Lead: Female Commanding Officers in Latin America’s Navies
"Rising to Lead: Female Commanding Officers in Latin America’s Navies"
Wilder Alejandro Sanchez
The Southern Tide Column
Center for International Maritime Security
April 16, 2020
Originally published: http://cimsec.org/rising-to-lead-female-commanding-officers-in-latin-americas-navies/43439
Written by Wilder Alejandro Sanchez, The Southern Tide addresses
maritime security issues throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. It
discusses the challenges regional navies face including limited defense
budgets, inter-state tensions, and transnational crimes. It also
examines how these challenges influence current and future defense
strategies, platform acquisitions, and relations with global powers.
“We
focus on partnerships…Our partners want to work with us. They want the
advantage of the United States education, training, exercises and
military equipment. It’s the best in the world. And so it’s up to us to
deliver that in a way that’s relevant and also provides a return on
investment for American taxpayer. So that is our focus.” –Navy Adm. Craig S. Faller, commander of U.S. Southern Command, before the Senate Armed Services Committee July 9, 2019.
By Wilder Alejandro Sanchez
A historical milestone was reached in Uruguay as Capitan Valeria Sorrenti
became the first female commander of an Uruguayan Navy vessel. With
that said, it is important to keep in mind that she is only the latest
example of a growing trend. In recent years there were a number of
positive “firsts” when it comes to female naval officers taking command
of ships among various Latin American navies, a trend that will
hopefully continue.
Continue Reading....
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Providence: 2020 Forecast: What Could Happen in Latin America and the Caribbean?
"2020 Forecast: What Could Happen in Latin America and the Caribbean?"
Wilder Alejandro Sanchez
Providence
January 15, 2020
Originally published: https://providencemag.com/2020/01/2020-forecast-latin-america-caribbean/
As the new year commences, there are several developments taking place in Latin America and the Caribbean that will likely make international headlines in 2020. In this commentary, we will briefly discuss some issues to keep in mind:
1. An Ongoing Lack of a Comprehensive US Foreign Policy: Needless to say, the Trump administration never had a grand strategy toward Latin America and the Caribbean.
Continue Reading....
Saturday, September 7, 2019
IPD: The Future of the Medicinal Cannabis Industry: A View from the Western Hemisphere
"The Future of the Medicinal Cannabis Industry: A View from the Western Hemisphere"
Wilder Alejandro Sanchez
International Policy Digest
September 6, 2019
Originally published: https://intpolicydigest.org/2019/09/06/the-future-of-the-medicinal-cannabis-industry-a-view-from-the-western-hemisphere/
Former NFL player Rob Gronkowski announced on August 27 that he will focus on his campaign to allow professional sports leagues, like the National Football League (NFL), to relax their restrictions on the use of cannabidiol (CBD) for pain relief. This continues the momentum started in 2018 when the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) removed CBD from its list of prohibited substances.
The legalization of marijuana and its derivatives, like CBD, is a complex issue as several countries around the world have, to differing degrees, legalized it, including Brazil, The Netherlands, Uruguay, in addition to various states throughout the United States. Medicinal CBD is a particularly interesting and growing industry.
Keep Reading
Monday, August 28, 2017
CIMSEC: Narco Submarines: A Problem That Will Not Sink
Narco Submarines: A Problem that will not Sink
W. Alejandro Sanchez
"The Southern Tide"
W. Alejandro Sanchez
24 August, 2017
Originally published: http://cimsec.org/narco-submarines-problem-will-not-sink/33819
Written by Wilder Alejandro Sanchez, The Southern Tide addresses maritime security issues throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. It discusses the challenges regional navies face including limited defense budgets, inter-state tensions, and transnational crimes. It also examines how these challenges influence current and future defense strategies, platform acquisitions, and relations with global powers.
“The security environment in Latin America and the Caribbean is characterized by complex, diverse, and non-traditional challenges to U.S. interests.” Admiral Kurt W. Tidd, Commander, U.S. Southern Command, before the 114th Congress Senate Armed Services Committee, 10 March 2016.
By Alejandro Sanchez
In the past year a number of narco submarines have been seized in several Latin American states. Narco submarines continue to be a problem as hemispheric security forces combat drug trafficking. Unfortunately for every narco sub that is seized, another is under construction. While recent successful operations should be applauded, combating narco subs needs a regional strategy of its own.
This commentary is a continuation of previous articles published by CIMSEC on this issue: “An Update on Narco Submarines and Maritime Law Enforcement Agencies’ Efforts to Thwart their Operational Effectiveness,” “Narco submarines: Drug Cartels’ Innovative Technology,” as well as the author’s “U.S. Southcom vs Caribbean Narco Pirates.” The incidents mentioned in this commentary will focus on events that have occurred over the past year. (The colloquial term “narco sub” will be utilized for these platforms, though we will later do a more thorough analysis of their characteristics.)
Recent Narco Sub Incidents
In recent months, several narco submarines have been seized in various Latin American states. For example, on 5 August, Ecuadoran marines located one in the Las Delicias area, close to the border with Colombia. For Colombia, a narco sub was seized in an operation by army and naval personnel in the San Juan and Baudó Rivers in the Choco department in late July. The platform, which was carrying approximately four tons of cocaine, was apparently manufactured by ELN rebels. The Colombian Navy explained that this was the first time a narco sub was operating in a river, and that it probably took some five to six months to be constructed. Not long after, in mid-August, the Colombian Navy located yet another narco sub, this time in the Nariño department and with the capacity to transport up to four tons of drugs. This one measured 14 meters, with a diesel motor and propellers, the Navy explained in a communiqué.
Narco subs have also been located in Central America. For example, a narco sub, reportedly 16 meters in length and capable of transporting up to five tons of drugs, was found inGuatemala in mid-April. Months later, in late July, the Costa Rican Coast Guard found a similar illegal platform on a beach. Local authorities believe that the vessel, with the capacity to transport up to four tons of drugs, had a motor problem and was discarded by the crew, until it washed ashore and got stuck in the sand.
Catching Them At Sea
The aforementioned examples highlight one fact. So far, the vast majority of narco-platforms are captured in the mainland (meaning either on dry land or “docked” in some body of water), either before they depart or upon arriving to their destination.
As far as the author has been able to find, in the past couple of years, there have only been a couple of narco subs intercepted in open waters. One was in July 2015, when during a “joint operation, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and assets from the Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine, intercepted a “narco submarine” off the coast of El Salvador,”Business Insider explains. The platform was carrying over 16,000 pounds of cocaine.
Who Finds The Narco Subs?
Nowadays, several Latin American and Caribbean navies and coast guards are undergoing a modernization process, which includes the acquisition of new platforms. For example,Colombia and Mexico are domestically manufacturing new fleets of patrol vessels. Christian Ehrlich, a director of intelligence for Riskop, a Mexican Strategic intelligence and risk control company explained to the author that the Mexican Navy is in the process of adding Damen Sigma 10514 frigates to its fleet, “this will provide a decisive boost to Mexico’s Maritime Domain Awareness but unfortunately it will be some time before this system has an acceptable operational level” (construction for the first of the new frigates commenced in mid-August). Meanwhile The Bahamas is in the final stretch of its ambitious Sandy Bottom Project, via which it is obtaining a fleet of different patrol boats from Damen Group. Similarly, in late June IHS Jane’s reported that Louisiana-based shipbuilder Metal Shark and Damen will construct near coastal patrol vessels (NCPVs) for regional U.S. partners like “the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala.” It is worth noting that Mr. Ehrlich, remarked how Mexico possesses aircraft like CASA CN—235 and Beechcraft King Air 350ER for ISR; Colombia also possesses similar assets.
Nevertheless, in spite of more modern navies and coast guards, locating narco subs at sea continues to be a problem. In an interview with the author, Gustavo Fallas, a journalist for the Costa Rican daily La Nacion, explained that “[Costa Rica] depends on the Americans to combat [narco submarines]. In 2006 we detained a submersible with three tons [of drugs] and it was thanks to an American frigate. In 2012 we chased another one in the Caribbean, and it was also after the Americans alerted us. For those reasons it is vital to have U.S. aid to locate these platforms.” Mr. Fallas added that Costa Rica must create a shield (meaning more vessels, radars, personnel) to prevent drug traffickers from using the country as a warehouse or transit path for drugs.
Unfortunately, Randy Pestana, a policy analyst at Florida International University’s Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy, has a gloomy assessment about regional naval forces vis-à-vis narco subs. Mr. Pestana explained to the author how “relying on partner nations to stop, slow, or detain these shipments is difficult in itself as they do not have the necessary tools to do so unless provided by the U.S.” Of a similar opinion is Mr. Ehrlich, who stated to the author that “there isn’t a navy or coast guard in Central America with the [necessary platforms] to detect, follow and interdict [narco submarines].”
In other words, Central American navies will continue to rely on the U.S. (be it SOUTCHOM or the Coast Guard) to monitor maritime areas in order to combat, among other threats, narco submarines. This is problematic, since, as Mr. Pestana remarked, even U.S. security agencies have limits to their abilities, particularly nowadays when the U.S. has other security operations and geopolitical concerns around the globe. Furthermore, there is the problematic and ever-present red tape, namely, “the inability of the U.S. to respond to an identified narco submarine without permission from higher leadership. This often led to the narco submarine to either get away, or move out of the U.S. areas of operation,” the FIU expert explained.
How To Find A Narco Sub
Locating a narco submarine at sea is a tricky business. In an interview with the author, Mario Pedreros, a retired Chilean Naval officer and an expert in airborne maritime patrol, provided an excellent analysis on this problem.
As previously mentioned, the term narco submarine is commonly utilized for these vessels, however they are not really submarines. As Mr. Pedreros explains, these platforms are semi-submersibles, meaning that they cannot go completely underwater, and if they can do so, it is for brief periods of time. (“Narco submarine” is still a catchier name than “narco-semi-submersible” though). However, even if these vessels cannot fully dive, they are nonetheless difficult to locate at sea. Mr. Pedreros explained how some of these platforms have electronic motors, which makes them more silent than diesel engines, making them harder to find with passive sonar. “When it comes to semi-submersibles, utilizing sonar is not very efficient,” Mr. Pedreros concludes. Adding to the problem is that the vessel is pretty small, and “once at sea, the submersibles have 20 percent of their structure above the surface,” making them hard to pinpoint by radar.
The Future of the Narco Sub
It would be naïve to assume that recent successful operations by regional security forces will convince drug traffickers to stop investing in narco submarines. There is simply too much money to be made in drugs, and the subs cost only around USD$1 million to manufacture. Even if five narco subs are stopped, drug traffickers only need one or two successful deliveries to make up for their losses.
Moreover, recently seized narco subs show they are becoming more technologically advanced, including bigger in size so they can transport greater quantities of contraband. The narco sub seized in mid-July in Choco had space for a crew of four, measured 9 meters in length by 4 wide, had radars, stabilizers, ballast weights and was powered by over 100 batteries, according to the Colombian daily El Colombiano.
Indeed, the (brief) history of narco subs shows a trend towards modernization, particularly as drug lords are always looking for new methods to transport drugs, from Cessna aircraft and go-fast boats during the Pablo Escobar era to drones and narco subs nowadays (though of course, narcos continue to utilize the former as well). Mr. Pestana drives this home remarking how “top drug traffickers are relatively smart and have a good grasp on technology and history.” Moreover, the attractive wages narco-organizations can afford to pay means that they can hire “former engineers or other trade workers,” as Mr. Pestana explains, to continuously improve previous designs.
Final Thoughts
From a scholarly point of view, the appearance of the narco sub is a fascinating development as it highlights drug traffickers’ ingenuity as they continuously think of new ways of transporting their contraband. Unfortunately, this represents an ongoing problem for regional security forces, as new narco subs become more technologically advanced. Unfortunately, even though many narco subs have been stopped, it only takes one successful trip to make a large profit.
In spite of several successful operations, combating narco submarines requires both a multiagency and multinational strategy of its own. Mr. Ehlrich stresses the necessity to disrupt the construction of these platforms (which requires cooperation between police and military units). As for when narco submarines are at sea, the Greater Central American region requires united front, such as a regional anti-narco submarine task force. By combining resources, in which member states can contribute platforms to create the three-platform interception teams that Mr. Pedreros described, this unit would ideally be more successful at locating narco subs at sea, and not just in inland waterways. This will decrease the region’s dependency on the U.S., which Mr. Pestana and Mr. Fallas highlighted.
Unfortunately, narco submarines are a problem that will not sink, hence new strategies are needed in order to combat them more efficiently.
Alejandro Sanchez Nieto is a researcher who focuses on geopolitical, military and cyber security issues in the Western Hemisphere. Follow him on Twitter: @W_Alex_Sanchez
The author would like to thank the various experts that contributed to this commentary:
Christian J. Ehrlich, Director of Intelligence, Riskop; External Analyst, Mexican Navy
Gustavo Fallas, Journalist, La Nacion (Costa Rica)
Mario Pedreros, a retired Chilean Navy Officer, expert in aero-maritime patrol. He participated as a Tactical Coordinator Officer (TACCO) in different missions overseas onboard Chilean Navy P-3 Orion aircrafts. Missions include Anti Submarine Warfare, Anti Surface Warfare, Anti Terrorism missions and Search and Rescue operations. He is currently based in Washington, DC. doing consulting for several Defense and Security companies.
Randy Pestana, Policy Analyst, Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy, Florida International University
The views presented in this essay are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of any institutions with which the author is associated.
Monday, February 15, 2016
Remote Control: From Surveillance to Smuggling - Drones in the War on Drugs
"From Surveillance to Smuggling - Drones in the War on Drugs"
W. Alejandro Sanchez
Remote Control Warfare Series
February 15, 2016
Originally published: http://remotecontrolprojectblog.org/2016/02/15/drones-in-the-war-on-drugs-from-surveillance-to-smuggling/
This article is part of the Remote Control Warfare series, a collaboration with sustainablesecurity.org, a project of the Sustainable Security programme of Oxford Research Group. The views and opinions discussed in this series do not necessarily reflect the views of Oxford Research Group or the Remote Control project.
In Latin America drones are being used as part of the War on Drugs as both regional governments and the US are using surveillance drones to monitor drug trafficking and find smuggling routes. However, as drones are increasingly being used by drug cartels themselves to transport drugs between countries, could Latin America find itself at the forefront of emerging drone countermeasures?
In many Latin American countries, militaries operate as internal security forces because they combat drug traffickers and insurgencies. As a result, regional security agencies are constantly looking for new technologies to support security operations. Indeed, Peruvian Admiral José Cueto Aservi described purchasing drones in 2013 as necessary due to the “asymmetric war” being launched by narco-movement Shining Path that “takes advantage of the complex geography to attack” and thus “all methods” – including “technology” – are needed to defeat them.
Today, drones are regarded as potential “game changers” by regional security forces, believed to be invaluable “eyes in the sky” that will aid surveillance operations. Hence, it is no surprise that several Latin American countries have acquired them, whilst many others are producing them. At the same time, US drones are carrying out their own operations in Latin America as part of the global War on Drugs and drug cartels themselves have started using drones to smuggle drugs across international borders. As the use of drones looks set to increase, what is the likelihood of armed drones being used in this theatre and what implications could the non-state use of drones have on the region?
Drones in Latin America
There are currently at least 14 Latin American and Caribbean countries which have used or purchased drones. No Latin American state possesses large numbers of drones in the manner of the US military, rather, regional governments mostly operate just two or three drones of any type. Israel is the largest provider of drone technology to Latin America, having sold some $500 million worth to the region between 2005 and 2012. Latin American states have also started developing their own drones with Colombia being the first South American nation to have home-built a drone, the Iris, in 2015.
Unarmed drones carry out Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) roles for a range of different operations in Latin America. Due to the region’s complex topography (a case in point is the Amazon, where drug traffickers from Brazil, Colombia, Bolivia and Peru operate) drones require special features like infrared cameras and have been useful for monitoring vast uninhabited spaces in the region. In Brazil, for example, drones have been used for agricultural reasons, including monitoring the Amazon rainforest. In Belize and Costa Rica too, drones have been used for conservation purposes. In Peru, a municipality police force in Lima,deployed three drones to patrol the Peruvian capital during the last Christmas season to help security officers locate emergency areas if necessary and in Mexico, drones have been used to patrol and secure sensitive areas like the facilities of the state oil company PEMEX.
Drones and the War on Drugs
Drones have also been used as part of the War on Drugs in Latin America. In Mexico, National Defense Secretariat, the Federal Police, the Procuradoría General de la República (the Attorney General’s office), as well as the Army and Air Force fly drones to gather intelligence to combat organized crime, mainly drug trafficking. In Brazil, Colombia, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago too, drones are used to monitor drug trafficking and find drug smuggling routes.
Drones are also being used by non-state actors, in the form of drug cartels, to smuggle drugs between countries. In January 2015, a drone crashed in a supermarket parking lot in Tijuana, Mexico –carrying three kilograms of crystal meth and in August 2015, two Mexican citizens were convicted of utilizing a UAV to fly 13 kilograms of heroin from Baja California, Mexico, into California.This led US authorities to deem drones an “emerging trend” employed by transnational criminal organizations to smuggle narcotics into the US.
In its long running War on Drugs, the US has also been using its own drones in Latin America. A New York Times article reported that, in 2011, in an effort to step up its involvement in Mexico’s drug war, the Obama administration begun sending its drones deep into Mexican territory to gather intelligence to help locate major traffickers. Furthermore, an official US briefing from 2011 – obtained via the Freedom of Information Act – revealed that the US Air Force is working to make its RQ-4 Global Hawk high altitude long endurance drones available to its allies in Latin America and the Caribbean in order to help “find drugs fields and helping plan offensives against rebel groups”.
US Customs and Border Protection operates 10 MQ-1 Predator drones, including two based in Cape Canaveral, Florida, that patrol a wide swatches of the Caribbean through the Bahamas and down to south of Puerto Rico as part of the drugs fight, and, in 2013, it was reported that the US Navy was testing a new type of drone that can be hand-launched from a ship’s deck to help detect, track and videotape drug smugglers in action across the Caribbean Sea.
US drones have also been used for other purposes in the region. US Customs and Border Protection have been flying surveillance drones for nearly a decade, launching them from bases in Texas, Florida, North Dakota and Arizona to detect illegal border-crossing. This activity has been called into question recently as a 2015 report from the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general found drones to be ineffective in conducting surveillance along the border.
Towards drone countermeasures?
As for the future, we can expect drones to continue to be utilized in Latin America, as there has been an increase in the purchasing and development of drones across the region in the last few years. US companies Boeing and Aerovironment, for example, have both declared their intention to increase drone sales to Latin America, with countries like Colombia, Chile, Mexico and Peru interested in purchasing from them and the Swedish firm Unmanned System Groups (USG), showcased its F-330 drone to the Uruguayan armed forces in late 2014.
More countries in the region are also looking to develop their own drones. Following the building of Colombia’s first drone in 2015, a COHA report found that Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Brazil are all in the process of developing their own drones. There have also been talks of developing a South American drone, which would be manufactured by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR, which has as members all twelve South American states).
With regards to armed drones in the region, a number of states have indicated their desire for them. Peru and Colombia in particular could seek to acquirearmed drones as internal security conditions worsen. However, this is unlikely to happen any time soon as countries that possess armed drones, such as the US and Israel, are unlikely to sell them to Latin America in the near future. Hence Latin American militaries would have to look to other potential suppliers, like China or Russia, or construct them themselves. Here, financial barriers, along with limited technological know-how capabilities, even amongst countries that already produce drones, would make this unlikely.
Even if armed drones are unlikely to be used in the region any time soon, there is a potential for Latin America to become a testing ground for drone technology in other ways. As drones are being increasingly utilized by drug traffickers in the region to transport drugs between countries in ever more sophisticated ways, it is likely that this will lead to regional efforts to develop increasingly advanced drone-detection and interdiction technologies to defend against this threat. At present a number of companies internationally are developing this technology, used to detect, block and destroy drones. This includes the development of early warning systems that can identify and detect drones and signal jamming technology to block drone control frequencies. As well as this, technology is also being advanced to destroy detected drones. This includes both laser and kinetic defence systems, the later using missiles, rockets and bullets capable of shooting drones down. Companies are also looking into non-lethal projectile weapons that fire blunt force rounds, such as bean bags or rubber bullets, or small portable net guns that can ensnare drones. As Latin America finds itself battling against the hostile use of drones by drug cartels it could find itself at the forefront of these emerging drone countermeasures.
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Blouin Beat: ‘Jessica Jones’ and the devil in the pill
'Jessica Jones' and the devil in the pill
W. Alejandro Sanchez
Blouin Beat: Science & Health
December 30, 2015
Originally published: http://blogs.blouinnews.com/blouinbeatsciencehealth/2015/12/30/jessica-jones-and-the-devil-in-the-pill/
This commentary contains spoilers for ‘Jessica Jones,’ Season 1. It is based on Netflix’s ‘Jessica Jones’ series and not on the comics published by Marvel.
‘Jessica Jones‘, the second show in the Marvel universe produced by Netflix, has been widely successful among fans and critics. Apart from strong acting and a compelling story, the series has been praised for having a female superheroas the main character. Moreover the show has had no qualms with how it portrays alcoholism as well as physical (e.g. rape) and psychological abuse. Because the main premise of the show focuses on the clash between Jessica Jones and Kilgrave (the villain) in New York City, it is difficult to analyze this series from an international relations perspective. That said, one of the show’s characters provides a jumping-off point for discussing substance abuse among members of the armed forces.
As the show moves forward, one storyline to follow is that of Will Simpson, an NYPD sergeant who is temporarily controlled by Kilgrave and then helps Jessica track him down. Over the course of the series, we learn that Simpson has military training – at one point he introduces Jessica’s stepsister Trish to his “special forces friends.” Moreover, when Simpson is injured, Trish takes him to a hospital where he is treated by a Dr. Kozlov; Simpson and Kozlov know each other from his military past and the doctor gives Simpson some mysterious red pills that rapidly cure him from severe injuries.
One of the pills’ effects is that Simpson becomes stronger, hence the NYPD officer takes them prior to fighting, even though Kozlov warns him to not overdose. The pills also make Simpson more aggressive: he pushes Trish against a wall (he apologizes for it afterwards), summarily executes a police detective and gets in a fight with Jessica. In the final episode, Kozlov finds an unconscious Simpson and takes him away – it is never clarified which agency they belong to (though fan theories abound).
Security analysts and members of any military that watch ‘Jessica Jones’ will likely relate to the Simpson storyline. There are a plethora of reports and commentaries that discuss how soldiers (and members of any other military branch) utilize some type of performance enhancing drug. One prominent example is how U.S. Air Force pilots take amphetamines in order to fly their aircraft for long missions. The downside of using Speed (or “Go Pills”) is that it has side-effects such as “confusion, delusions, auditory hallucinations, aggression and, in extreme cases, psychotic behavior.” Meanwhile, in order to improve the performance of its troops, the U.S. Army “has tested modafinil and caffeine (to promote wakefulness) for use in military operations.” (According to Le Monde, the French armed forces also tested modafinil on its troops during the First Gulf War).
The obvious concern is that servicemen and servicewomen may become addicted to drugs (legal or illegal) in order to carry out their duties. For example, there is a problem in the U.S. military regarding steroid use, particularly during the simultaneous wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. “To prepare for — and perform — on combat tours of duty, some soldiers … turned to steroids to boost their brawn,” said a 2010 McClatchy DC report. To be fair, the U.S. military is hardly the only country that has problems with drug abuse, legal or otherwise, within its ranks. In 2013, some 17 British soldiers were expelled from the 7th Parachute Regiment Royal Horse Artillery for taking a sports supplement which contained the restricted substance ephedrine.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has not shied away from displaying substance abuse, most prominently the alcohol problems of Iron Man and Jessica Jones. When it comes to performance enhancing drugs, the MCU has only briefly touched on them (e.g. the experiments that created Captain America and the Winter Soldier).
Marvel movies tend to be more family-friendly, while Netflix has had no reservations so far in addressing controversial topics head on. Hence, it would be an interesting development if the officer Simpson character goes farther “down the rabbit hole” and becomes more dependent on performance enhancing drugs. The writers of ‘Jessica Jones’ have plenty of real-world material about experiments regarding these drugs and their side effects from which to draw inspiration.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Presentation: Is Cuba a U.S. National Security Threat in 2015?
"Is Cuba a U.S. National Security Threat in 2015?"
W. Alejandro Sanchez
Senior Research Fellow, Council on Hemispheric Affairs
"Charting a Course for Cuba"
The Washington Center
Track | International Affairs
July 24, 2015
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