Posted on 08/23/2007 12:30:24 PM PDT by Froufrou
A submarine-like vessel filled with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cocaine was seized off the Guatemalan coast, U.S. officials said.
Four suspected smugglers were operating the self-propelled, semi-submersible vessel when it was located and seized on Sunday evening by officials from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard, the Border Patrol said in a news release Wednesday.
When the suspects realized they had been spotted by drug-surveillance aircraft patrolling the eastern Pacific, they scuttled the vessel but were unable to escape.
Coast Guard officials, guided by the reconnaissance plane, intercepted the vessel and detained the reputed smugglers, who were transporting approximately 5.5 tons of cocaine worth $352 million, the Border Patrol said.
Several drug-carrying submarines operated by Colombian drug cartels have been discovered in recent years.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
“Yes, if it’s stopping vessels that aren’t either in or entering U.S. waters or waters of nations we have a treaty with. Stopping a vessel on the high seas is piracy.”
Wouldn’t the fact that it wasn’t a flagged vessel have a bearing on it?
Nope. If the boat is flying the flag of a nation we have a treaty with, our military can stop it. With no flag visible there is even less justification.
I'm sure this "submarine" was a fully registered "foreign merchant vessel" with the Guatemalan registry.
Send your question about violation of the "Geneva Convention" to the nation of registration.
Ping.
352 million? Shit, no wonder cocaine is abundant. This is more than Guatamala’s annual GDP!!!
Hmmm...would that start a gang war of global proportions? That may be a good thing...
They have to contact the country under which the vessel is flagged and get permission.
Then they board.
If it is a US flagged ship, and in international waters, they can board. That’s how they caught the notorious ‘little tiger’ drug running gangster 12 miles off the coast of Mexico, now on trial in San Diego.
I never said it was. I was just speculating about the practice of stopping vessels on the high seas (i.e., not in anyone's territorial waters). I'm not sure if that's what happened here - my question was academic.
The US is pretty much the only country in the hemisphere that can afford it. That’s why pretty much all production ends up here.
See post #67.
...and if the vessel isn't flying a flag, they can only board it if it's American.
See post #71 re if they refuse to show their nationality.
Panama, Guatemala, whatever it takes.
“Why bother seizing the sub. Just torpedo or depth charge it. No one would admit to knowing it was missing.”
What? And miss out on all that “winning the WOD” PR?
I think Bear Cub, once it was observed that cargo was being tossed overboard, one of two things could be noted:
1. The vessel was in distress and required assistance.
2. The crew was in the act of polluting the environment or destroying evidence of a crime.
I think any of the above constitutes grounds to investigate further by the USCG.
Submarine with cocaine seized off Costa Rica | Nov 20, 2006
Cocaine-smuggling submarine busted-Colombia | Fri, Mar 25, 2005
I think the guys who bailed out and left all that coke behind are dead men.
Reunite Gondwanaland, eh?
I say...
FREE CONSTANTINOPLE!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.