Overview:
The United States has committed $7 million to establish a regional maritime law enforcement center in Palau as part of a broader $44 million Pacific security initiative targeting drug trafficking and organized crime.
By Elilai Rengiil
KOROR, Palau — “The Pacific is not an open highway for your business. We are coming for you!” Justice Minister Jennifer Olegeriil said as the United States announced $7 million to establish a regional maritime law enforcement training and coordination center in Palau.
Olegeriil said the new center and expanded cooperation with the United States would give Palau practical tools to address drug trafficking, human trafficking, illegal fishing and illicit financial activities that affect communities across the Pacific.
“Drugs, human trafficking, illegal fishing and illicit finances are not distant problems. They reach our families and our communities,” Olegeriil said.
The Aumoana Regional Center will train Pacific personnel in vessel boarding, evidence handling and maritime monitoring. It will also house U.S. and regional liaison officers who will provide intelligence support to Pacific Island countries and U.S. territories.
The $7 million commitment is part of more than $44 million in new U.S. programs targeting drug trafficking and other transnational criminal activities across the Pacific.
The announcement was made during the inaugural U.S.-Pacific Islands Conference of Police Ministers in Los Angeles last month. The conference was co-chaired by Olegeriil and U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday.
Palau and the United States also signed an agreement to strengthen law enforcement training and capabilities. The regional programs could also benefit the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.
Under a separate initiative, two U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers will work alongside Palau’s Bureau of Customs and Border Protection during a 60-day advisory pilot program.
The deployment is part of an initiative worth more than $1.3 million to support investigative training in Palau, Fiji, Tonga, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.
The U.S. announcement noted that drug trafficking by Western Hemisphere cartels through the Pacific has surpassed trafficking flows from Asia since 2024.
To strengthen cross-border investigations, the United States is providing $4 million for RIPTIDE, an information-sharing partnership involving INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization. The initiative will connect police and customs intelligence, drug seizure information and investigations into criminal proceeds.
The broader U.S. assistance package also includes nearly $5.5 million for maritime surveillance and communications and $4.5 million for maritime enforcement training.
Expanded Coast Guard Shiprider operations will allow Pacific law enforcement officers to enforce their countries’ laws aboard U.S. vessels, strengthening enforcement within their respective maritime jurisdictions.
Separate $5 million programs will support FBI-led investigative training, financial intelligence and cybercrime units, and Pacific police academies.
Olegeriil said the commitments include establishing a regional maritime law enforcement center in Palau, placing U.S. customs advisers alongside local customs officers, providing specialized training for investigators and expanding Shiprider operations to protect Palau’s exclusive economic zone.
“Above all, this partnership is built on trust. The United States has stood with Palau for decades, and together we are sending a clear message to transnational and organized crime: The Pacific is not an open highway for your business. We are coming for you!” she said.
Participants at the conference pledged to strengthen maritime monitoring, border security and regional cooperation against trafficking, scams, money laundering and corruption.