Haitian Station.

Drug seizures spotlight security problems.

U.S. LAW ENFORCEMENT TYPES ARE ECSTATIC ABOUT THE recent seizures of tons of cocaine in Miami in boats that came from Haitian shores. But those busts are likely to prove little more than a mild annoyance in the whole trafficking scheme of things.

After all, the U.S. State Department has been issuing ominous warnings about Haiti's "drug problem" for the past three years. The country sits at the crossroads of the major drug routes. U.S. officials estimate that about a third of all the cocaine smuggled into the United States goes through the Caribbean Sea.

"There is a direct correlation between the efforts to contain drug trafficking and the maintenance of strong economies in the region," according to Phillip Goddard, the transportation minister for Barbados.

The mingling of illegal and legitimate cargo plus the lack of security and control equals big losses for the Latin American economies. About 40% of Haiti's government budget, for example, is financed through customs and tax receipts. However, the government is losing massive amounts of revenue because illegal drugs, television sets, clothing, jewelry and other merchandise are being smuggled into and through its outlying ports.

Security problems in Haiti and other small Latin American ports or shipping routes also have more far-reaching consequences. Shipping lines, importers and exporters wind up paying fines for illegal drugs found in their shipments. They also bear the cost of stolen cargo, added insurance costs and extreme security measures, such as armed escorts for the cargo.

To be sure, security patrols at most major Latin American ports make Attila the Hun's troops seem effeminate. Take it from someone who more than once has been given the third degree on docks in Argentina, Venezuela and Panama. Private and government security teams patrol both inside and outside the terminals and if you've got no business there (and even sometimes if you do), you can wind up looking at the business end of a powerful firearm.

That's certainly not the case in smaller Latin American and Caribbean ports like those in Haiti. Fenced cargo yards, security lighting, clearance checks--all of the basic items that the better ports take for granted are missing.

Corruption combined with incompetence, and lazy port and government workers, keep contraband flowing through Haiti's two main gateways, Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien, according to a recent Maritime Security Report on the country released by the U.S. Maritime Administration.

Dirty dozen. But if illegal goods trickle through the country's main ports, they flood the dozen provincial ports. By law, all Haitian imports are required to pass through the main facilities, but, in practice, many goods--legal and illegal--flow into the isolated terminals, cut off by mountains and poor or non-existent roads.

Experts say about half of Haiti's commerce moves through the dozen uncontrolled smaller ports. The truth is that no one knows how much cocaine--or any other--goods pass through these terminals. Haiti's National Port Authority has no control over these outlying piers and relies on "voluntary" customs compliance.

That's not happening dockside at the smaller ports. "Contraband cargoes from these voyages are bought and sold, loaded and discharged in cash transactions by independent traders without apparent auditable documentation," says the Maritime Security Report. "Smugglers of narcotics and contraband merchandise exploit the pervasive corruption and a lack of minimal, consistent customs."

Because there are so many small boats moving and mixing cargo in Haiti and other Caribbean islands, pinpointing the exact origin of cargo let alone what's in the ship's belly can he a major task. The U.S. Coast Guard reports that only about 60 small wooden Haitian ships steam to Miami six times a year, carrying cargo of all types, but Haiti says 350 vessels fly its national flag. Where are the rest?

Haiti and other Latin American countries have invited the U.S. Coast Guard, Navy and other agencies to help find them, audit their ports and suggest changes.

Maybe the U.S. officials should start at home. In Miami, which has made great strides to increase security, guards recently waved a journalist and me through the main port terminal--without taking even a moment to check credentials or clearance.

Sure, that's not bad compared to Haiti--but I know schoolyards that are tougher to get into.