“In typical US Coast Guard fashion, they put on the spotlight then stoplight, severing the steady supply of junk from reaching our US shores.”
The crystalline blue water of the Caribbean Sea was recently spared the nefarious wake of a go-fast boat full of cocaine bales destined for the United States. On May 25, 2017 US Coast Guard (USCG) Cutters Harriet Lane and Joseph Tezanos were set in motion to interdict the go-fast vessel detected by a maritime patrol airplane. Once the drug boat was stopped and boarded by USCG maritime enforcement specialists (MESs), authorities netted bales of cocaine and three maritime arrests. The drug-runners were Dominican nationals planning to offload the powdery scourge ashore in Puerto Rico.
According to the The Virgin Islands Consortium, the interdiction operation resulted from joint international efforts between several law enforcement agencies bolstering Operation Unified Resolve and Operation Caribbean Guard.
The huge haul of 1,100 kilograms of cocaine is estimated to be worth a wholesale value of $32.5 million. That is wholly commendable and one of a continual stream of high-seas busts made by our seafaring men and women in blue.
Eye in the Sky
In keeping with President Trump’s “Secure Our Borders” initiative, the US Coast Guard has been tirelessly working jointly with the US Attorney’s Office (USAG), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and, in this particular bust, the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD). A USCG press release explained that the maritime patrol airplane which detected these drug mules was part of Joint Interagency Task Force-South and spotted the drug smugglers’ go-fast boat “in international waters off the southern coast of Puerto Rico.”
Such international alliances are multi-government mutual-aid agreements in which jurisdiction overlaps, according each participating government agency legal authority to abate cross-border criminal syndicates.
Maritime patrol aircraft have long-range capability and surveil international waters from up above. The USCG site touts its “aircraft is capable of serving as an on-scene command and control platform or as a surveillance platform with the means to detect, classify and identify objects and share that information with operational forces.” No one easily embraces a mission to find the proverbial needle-in-a-haystack … but the Coast Guard seems to be sewing it up quite well with its fleet of airborne vessels.
Tax Dollars Working the Waters
How does a go-fast boat get nabbed at high speeds on the high-seas? By way of USCG Cutter Joseph Tezanos, ported in the US territory of San Juan, Puerto Rico, whose 154-foot “fast response” capacity is paid for with US tax dollars.
The sister ship involved in this massive drug seizure, USCG Cutter Harriet Lane is a 270-foot varied-use vessel engineered for medium-endurance and is ported at Portsmouth, Virginia.
Summing up this successful mission, USCG Captain Robert Warren said, “As in many other cases, the success of this interdiction is due to strong interagency cooperation between federal and regional law enforcement authorities in the Caribbean. We remain vigilant and stand ready to protect our citizens from illegal smuggling activities on the high seas.” Although not amigos of the United States, the three Dominican drug mules will be prosecuted by the US Attorney General’s office in the District of Puerto Rico.
Uncovered by main stream media, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has invested heavily in ensuring that President Trump’s Secure Our Borders mantra comes to fruition by decommissioning and launching new vessels to its aging fleet of USCG cutters. A growing cadre of fast response cutters have been floated and assigned or are being constructed by shipbuilding 101 architects and engineers.
Securing Our Borders
In typical US Coast Guard fashion, they put on the spotlight then stoplight, severing the steady supply of junk from reaching our US shores. It certainly takes diligence to find, stop, and seize contraband purveyors, and it is difficult making a dent in the market on this water-covered globe we call home. Securing our borders is a phrase containing three words which may be taken for granted by some, but not by the USCG and counterpart entities.
When I ponder the category “Unsung Heroes,” I readily conjure imagery of maritime enforcement specialists navigating our Earthly playing field, the turbulence of which is not just waterborne but from a notoriously hostile criminal enterprise desperate to ensure their product reaches the noses of Americans. The conditions may not be ideal, but the Coast Guard crime-fighters take up the battle anyway. After all, they swore an oath to defend our beloved nation and this is just the latest report of their litany of valiant efforts.
And with this major haul of drug cartel powder processed and disposed of by Drug Enforcement Administration agents, the USCG fleet is already back at sea to see to it our national security initiatives are fulfilled.
