Among the factors favoring the use of Cape Verde as a “platform” for the transit and storage of drugs, identified in assessments by specialized international organizations, are the geography and relative incipience of the maritime surveillance and inspection effort developed by the national authorities; the financial and material means available to the authorities for the mission is, by manifest defect, not proportionate to what would be the minimum necessary for a more successful effort (AM 992).

The most common route for sending drugs from Latin America or countries in the region to Cabo Verde is by sea. It is considered that part of the drug trade that seeks Cabo Verde has connections with international terrorist networks. Cocaine is the most trafficked variety, but with heroin on the rise. READ MORE