“They used different incentives to get regular fishermen and sailors to crew the boats. Sometimes they’d kidnap their families. Sometimes they’d simply pay them a couple of thousand dollars.”
(assuming the above isn’t another DNC talking point) Since they wind up dead anyway, being a ‘loose end’ after their drug run, we’re just hastening the process and making it a bit less lucrative for the cartels. As to profit levels, exactly - we take out stuff when it’s concentrated (as in these boats) and it has a HUGE EFFECT overall on the drug supply in the US.
Dear drug runners: Dying ain’t much of a living.