A Family Tradition – Old School Florida Smuggling, Chapter 1
Robert C. Hutchinson
February 12, 2020
The evolution of drug smuggling and related crimes in south Florida can be viewed through one
family and their many criminal associates. The Barker Family entered the smuggling business in the 1970s
and transitioned from marijuana to cocaine and illegal aliens by the 1990s. Through drug and alien
loads, broad conspiracies, and multiple deaths, the smuggling group was active, successful, and
notorious. This is an account of old school Florida smuggling through the long thread of one small
family. It is a bit of a history lesson and a fascinating journey back in time.
Ready or Not 2020: Protecting the Public’s Health From Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism
Domestic Preparedness
February 11, 2020
Ready or Not provides an annual assessment of states’ level of readiness to respond to public health emergencies and recommends policy actions to ensure that everyone’s health is protected during
Triggered Collapse, Part 2: Viral Pandemics
Drew Miller
February 5, 2020
The nation currently faces an age of bioengineered viral pandemics and collapse. Advances in
biotechnology enable nations, terrorist groups, or even lone wolves to create genetically modified
organisms (GMOs) such as a human-to-human transmissible version of avian flu or to modify a lethal virus
to facilitate a longer period of contagion and undetected spread before symptoms manifest.
Bioengineering enables almost anyone to modify and release a new virus that, in addition to a pandemic,
could cause an ensuing collapse in economic activity as well as loss of law and order as people react to
the threat. Some experts say that the threat of a natural or bioengineered viral pandemic is already
here. As it becomes increasingly easier to modify existing pathogens, the threat will also rise as these
pathogens are made to be more lethal and more transmissible.
