Press Releases

(Washington, DC) -- U.S. Congressmen Ed Case (D-HI-01) and James Moylan (R-Guam) have introduced a measure in the U.S. House to boost U.S. efforts to counter growing transnational crime in the Indo-Pacific.

“Our Pacific Islands Liaison Initiative Act addresses the growing use of Pacific Island nations as transit hubs for cross-Pacific illegal drug trade by  transnational criminal networks, particularly narcotics traffickers,” said Case, a founder and Co-Chair of the House Pacific Islands Caucus, a bipartisan Member group focused on the Pacific (https://pacificislandscaucus-case.house.gov). 

“Our fellow Pacific Island nations which are being victimized as stop-offs in this Pacific drug highway are now suffering from related domestic crisis including addiction broader public health, such as an HIV epidemic in Fiji primary spread by unsafe injecting practices,” said Case. “Our Pacific ‘ohana (family) have clearly prioritized this crisis and asked for our continued partnership in both reducing the trade to start with and addressing its consequences.”

“Guam sits at the crossroads of the Indo-Pacific, and we understand better than most that transnational crime does not stop at borders,” said Moylan. “Strengthening law enforcement partnerships throughout the Pacific protects our communities, reinforces our alliances, and advances America’s strategic interests in the region. The Pacific Islands Liaison Initiative is a smart investment in regional security, and I’m proud to support efforts that ensure Guam continues to play a leading role in keeping the Indo-Pacific safe, secure, and resilient.”

Case and Moylan noted that while much attention has focused on precursor chemicals moving eastward across the Pacific to illicit drug producers in the Western Hemisphere, a lesser-known trafficking route moves cocaine and methamphetamine westward from the Americas through Oceania to Australia and New Zealand, where significantly higher street prices generate enormous profits for criminal organizations.

In 2017, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Homeland Security Investigations division (HSI) spearheaded the Pacific Islands Liaison Initiative by establishing internal policies and procedures for coordination among HSI Honolulu, HSI Domestic Operations, and HSI International Operations to disrupt and deter transnational criminal organizations that exploit Pacific Island nations as transit points for the movement and concealment of illicit contraband bound for the United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Case, who serves on the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Homeland Security which oversees and funds DHS including HSI, said, “This is not just a regional challenge for the Pacific Islands.

“Those inflated profits flow right back to transnational criminal organizations in the Western Hemisphere, strengthening the networks that threaten communities throughout the U.S.

“Our Pacific partners and allies have also been working tirelessly on this issue, including by coordinating with U.S. government agencies like HSI and the Joint Interagency Task Force – West, but they need more support and our measure is part of that answer.”

The Pacific Islands Liaison Initiative Act would:

·        Establish in statute HSI’s Pacific Islands Liaison Initiative;

·         Require four full-time HSI personnel at HSI Honolulu and HSI Guam to oversee the Initiative;

·         Require an annual report to Congress on the activities of the Initiative; and

·         Specifically authorize $5 million a year for the Initiative.

o   Text of the Pacific Islands Liaison Initiative Act is here

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