US Navy Confiscates Cocaine from Speedboat in Caribbean
Officials from the Dominican Republic announced on Sunday that cocaine confiscated by the Trump administration comes from a speedboat that the US Navy recently destroyed during its controversial anti-drug operations in the Southern Caribbean.
During a press conference, the National Bureau of Drug Control in the Dominican Republic reported recovering 377 packages of cocaine from the boat, which was believed to be carrying around 1,000 kilograms of the drug.
The boat was destroyed approximately 80 nautical miles south of Isla Vita, a small island under Dominican jurisdiction.
In collaboration with US authorities, the Dominican Navy is currently trying to locate another speedboat believed to be attempting to dock in the Dominican Republic. This vessel is suspected of using local citizens as a “bridge” for transporting cocaine to the United States.
The Directorate highlighted that this marks the first-ever joint operations between the US and the Dominican Republic against drug trafficking in the Caribbean.
In August, the US deployed eight warships and submarines to the Southern Caribbean, part of a mission aimed at countering drug trafficking.
So far, reports indicate that the fleet has destroyed three drug-laden speedboats, resulting in the deaths of over 12 individuals aboard.
However, human rights organizations have described these boat strikes as extrajudicial killings. Recently, two Democratic senators introduced a resolution in Congress seeking to halt future strikes by the administration.
The Trump administration claims that at least two boats departed from Venezuela, often attributed to group leaders associated with the Sands’ cartel. In response, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro rejected these allegations, asserting that the US Navy’s presence in the Caribbean is a hostile maneuver against his country.
