Office of National Drug Control Policy

ONDCP Excel One Hundred Fourth Row

Action Item Number: 
Action Item Name: 
Target Cartel Leadership
Action Item Description: 

Violent, well-funded organizations cannot be eliminated unless their leadership core is identified and brought to justice.

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The “command and control” element of the most significant drug-trafficking organizations affecting the United States drug supply are identified on the Consolidated Priority Organization Target (CPOT) List. The CPOT list represents the “most wanted” of the cartel leadership and ensures that the full capabilities of the United States government are focused, in a coordinated and clear manner, on a group of agreed-upon high-level targets. The Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) leads an interagency effort to formulate this list of high-priority international drug trafficker targets. DEA, in close partnership with other agencies and in coordination with international law enforcement organizations, generally leads the multiagency investigations that result in the disruption or dismantlement of CPOT organizations. DEA continues to focus United States capabilities on major drug cartels and should accelerate the rate by which major drug-trafficking organizations, especially those that operate on both sides of the United States-Mexico border, can be put out of business.

Lead Agency: 
DOJ
Component(s): 
DEA, OCDETF