In recent years the military has slowly and reluctantly increased its involvement in the campaign against the Latin American narcotics trade. Those who do not understand the complexities of drug trafficking consider the use of the military to be an obvious and easy solution to the failed interdiction campaign. However, the direct use of the military will present problems related to interdiction on the high seas and at the border, the use of the National Guard, the potential corruption of the military, the conflict between the military's intelligence-gathering and civil liberties, arrest powers, implications for civil-military relations, and cost-effectiveness. Instead, the United States Customs Service should be the lead agency, the Coast guard should serve as one enforcement body, and the military's mission as the nation's defense against foreign armies and against domestic insurrection should be reaffirmed.