Operation Anvil is an aggressive counternarcotics strategy established in April by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The purpose of the operation is to track drug-laden aircraft entering Honduran airspace and to intercept those aircraft on clandestine landing strips. Central America is a crucial transshipment point for drugs, particularly South American cocaine on its way to the United States. Honduras' geographic location, weak law enforcement and institutional corruption make it susceptible to drug trafficking activities. The remote, poorly patrolled coastal departments of eastern Honduras are logical points of entry for cocaine shipments — nearly 80 percent of U.S.-bound cocaine passes through these areas. Operation Anvil has already yielded results. In just two months, U.S. and Honduran law enforcement have intercepted four aircraft, compared to the seven aircraft they intercepted from mid-2010 to December 2011. And on June 23, Honduran police and DEA agents seized some 360 kilograms (793 pounds) of cocaine near Ahuas, Gracias a Dios department, during a raid under the aegis of Operation Anvil. It is unclear whether the new operation will force drug traffickers to reroute their shipments to evade interception. The territorial scope of Operation Anvil likewise remains unclear. If U.S.-Honduran raids disrupt the flow of cocaine sufficiently, drug traffickers could be pressured to move their product through different parts of Honduras. Otherwise, they may choose less patrolled routes, such as those through the Caribbean or Nicaragua, for landing shipments. Any adaptation to law enforcement efforts could complicate U.S. efforts to stem the flow of narcotics through the Central American choke point.
