U.S. Southern Command Destroys 70th Suspected Drug Boat

On Saturday, U.S. forces in the Caribbean destroyed another suspected drug-running vessel with an airstrike, killing four people. It is the 70th publicized instance of use of lethal force against a drug boat in the region, and highlights the dual-mode structure of U.S. counternarcotics operations in the region: lethal when aerial assets are the sole means of engagement, nonlethal when Coast Guard or Marine Corps boarding teams are involved. On September 19, under the direction of #SOUTHCOM, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere executed a lethal, kinetic strike on a go-fast vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean. Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel’s active involvement in… pic.twitter.com/LPNJ5ec3GU

The strike targeted a small vessel operating on “established narco-trafficking routes” in the Caribbean. The boat had a cluttered top deck level or canopy, unlike most stripped-down “go-fast” boats or pangas, and it was operating at moderate speed. A large secondary explosion bloomed from the wreckage after the strike. 

Southcom said that confirmed intelligence indicated that the vessel had involvement in smuggling narcotics. 

FULL ARTICLE AVAILABLE HERE: maritime-executive.com 

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