Passport

Cocaine submarines: actually a real problem

I knew that drug smugglers were starting to use semi-submersible vessels but carry cocaine into North America, but it seems this is more than a freak occurrence. The Washington Post reports that more than a third of the Colombian cocaine smuggled into the United States now travels by submarine: The subs are powered by ordinary ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.
585153_090608_submarine2.jpg
585153_090608_submarine2.jpg
Puntarenas, COSTA RICA: A Costa Rica's Coastguard seaman keeps watch 19 November, 2006 at the Punta Arenas naval base, some 130 km west from San Jose, near to a midget submarine (R) seized November 17th to Colombian drug traffickers in Costa Rican territorial waters 80 nautical miles offshore the Pacific coastal waters. The capture was carried out during a DEA, FBI and US Coastguard and Costa Rican Coastguard joint operation. An Asiatic, two Colombians and one Guatemalan citizens were aprehended and three tons of cocaine seized in the operation, authorities said. AFP PHOTO/Rolando AVILES-PERIODICO AL DIA COSTA RICA OUT (Photo credit should read ROLANDO AVILES/AFP/Getty Images)

I knew that drug smugglers were starting to use semi-submersible vessels but carry cocaine into North America, but it seems this is more than a freak occurrence. The Washington Post reports that more than a third of the Colombian cocaine smuggled into the United States now travels by submarine:

The subs are powered by ordinary diesel engines and built of simple fiberglass in clandestine shipyards in the Colombian jungle. U.S. officials expect 70 or more to be launched this year with a potential cargo capacity of 380 tons of cocaine, worth billions of dollars in the United States.  …

U.S. officials and their Colombian counterparts have detected evidence of more than 115 submersible voyages since 2006. They have apprehended the crews of more than 22 submersibles at sea since 2007. Six crews have been arrested this year. The Colombian navy has intercepted or discovered 33 subs since 1993.

ROLANDO AVILES/AFP/Getty Images

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

Tags: Drugs & Crime, South America

latest

The Biden Administration Is Addicted to Partnerships

EU Foreign Ministers Make Historic Kyiv Trip

Biden’s Signature Achievement Needs to Go Global

The Land of Lederhosen, Beer, and Political Chaos

Will China’s Elite Ever Rise Up?
See All Stories

Editors’ Picks

  1. 1
    The Biden Administration Is Addicted to Partnerships
  2. 2
    The Land of Lederhosen, Beer, and Political Chaos
  3. 3
    A Tale of Two Germanies
  4. 4
    Biden’s Signature Achievement Needs to Go Global

More from Foreign Policy

A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.
A photo illustration shows Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Joe Biden posing on pedestals atop the bipolar world order, with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and Russian President Vladamir Putin standing below on a gridded floor.

No, the World Is Not Multipolar

The idea of emerging power centers is popular but wrong—and could lead to serious policy mistakes.

A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.
A view from the cockpit shows backlit control panels and two pilots inside a KC-130J aerial refueler en route from Williamtown to Darwin as the sun sets on the horizon.

America Prepares for a Pacific War With China It Doesn’t Want

Embedded with U.S. forces in the Pacific, I saw the dilemmas of deterrence firsthand.

The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.
The Chinese flag is raised during the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics at Beijing National Stadium on Feb. 4, 2022.

America Can’t Stop China’s Rise

And it should stop trying.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on prior a meeting with European Union leaders in Mariinsky Palace, in Kyiv, on June 16, 2022.

The Morality of Ukraine’s War Is Very Murky

The ethical calculations are less clear than you might think.

Trending

  1. The Land of Lederhosen, Beer, and Political Chaos
    Argument
    John Kampfner

  2. Biden’s Signature Achievement Needs to Go Global
    Argument
    Sagatom Saha, Shayak Sengupta

  3. The Biden Administration Is Addicted to Partnerships
    Argument
    Stephen M. Walt

  4. Indonesia Asks Where the Money Is for Green Transition
    Analysis
    Joseph Rachman

  5. A Tale of Two Germanies
    Review
    Allison Meakem