July 29, 2008
M3 Report
Narcotraffickers using submersible boats to smuggle drugs
El Informador (Guadalajara, Jalisco) 7/28/08
Reporting from Bogotá, Colombia, a Vice Admiral of the Colombian Navy affirmed that the FARC (Colombian guerilla rebels) build the submersible boats used by narcotraffickers.
Right Side News adds the following information on submersibles used by Narcotraffickers-
A 10 meter fiberglass semi-submersible (drug submarine or narco submarine) seized by the Mexican Navy, was loaded with cocaine. It was intercepted 200 miles south west of the Oaxaca, Mexico coast.SOURCES and Related News:
-Now they're building subs in the jungle
-Smugglers take the sub way
(wikipedia)The western Colombian shore topography is near ideal for transporting the cocaine produced in clandestine laboratories in nearby Nariño state. About a third of the 600 tons of cocaine coming out of Colombia each year, leaves via the Pacific coast and a significant amount is being carried in semi-submersibles.[9] The U.S. Homeland Security estimates that drug submarines now account for 32 percent of all maritime cocaine flow between Latin America and the United States.[10] While the subs are most frequently used from the Pacific coast of Colombia, they are showing up elsewhere as well. The Coast Guard says drug runners have devised a complete logistics system, with fishing boats stationed along the way to warn the crews against patrols and provide them with food and water and resorting to putting refueling vessels far offshore so drug-carrying boats can avoid coastal areas.[11] For traffickers, reaching the U.S.A., is well worth the trouble as a 10-ton load can fetch nearly $200 million wholesale. Fishermen hired specifically for the task are often at the controls, and those who complete the trip successfully are paid more than $100,000 USD (64,000).[12]
Smugglers normally unload their cargo onto fast power boats for the final leg to shore and the semi-submersible is scuttled. None has been sighted unloading at North American ports or beaches. In 2006, a 33-foot sub was found abandoned on the northern coast of Spain, where the authorities suspect the crew had unloaded a cargo of cocaine before fleeing.[13] On march 2006, the Calabrian mafia ('Ndrangheta) ordered a shipment of 10 tons of cocaine to be transported by a narco submarine from Colombia to Italy, but the vessel was discovered by the Colombian police while it was still in construction.[14]
During 2007, thirteen of the vessels were seized on Colombian dry land or stopped at sea by Colombian or U.S. patrol boats, more than in the previous 14 years combined, but arrests are rare.[15] When clandestine shipyards have been discovered, the workmen have scampered into the jungle. In some instances, the semi-subs are towed behind other vessels and are scuttled if they are detected. Authorities are investigating reports that some semi-submersibles are unmanned and are operated remotely. When the vessels have been stopped at sea, the crews have scuttled them, sending boat and cocaine to the bottom. With no evidence of trafficking against them, the semi-submersible crewmen go from suspected traffickers to castaways who, in accordance with maritime law, must be rescued and released without charge.
In the first six months of 2008, the U.S. Coast Guard along with the U.S. Navy have detected 42 drug subs headed north towards the United States and off the coast of Central America,[16] but they are rarely seized. The U.S. Coast Guard is currently adjusting its underwater acoustic sensors to 'listen' a narco sub's engine over a large distance.[17] Hoping for a new weapon in their arsenal, the U.S. Coast Guard is working with Congress to make it illegal to be aboard an unflagged semi-submersible in international waters, whether or not authorities find cocaine at the scene as evidence of wrongdoing. The crime would carry a 20-year prison term.
On July 16, 2008, the Mexican Navy intercepted a 30 feet long narco submarine travelling about 200 kilometers off the southwest of Oaxaca state, Mexico; in a daring raid, special forces soldiers rappelled from a helicopter on to the deck of the sub and arrested four smugglers before they could scuttle their vessel. The vessel was found to be loaded with 5.8 tons of cocaine and was towed to Huatulco, Oaxaca by a Mexican Navy patrol boat. MORE HERE
El Porvenir (Monterrey, Nuevo León) 7/28/08
In a related story to the above, A Colombian military officer on the Pacific coast said that Central America and Mexico are trampolines for Colombian drug shipments to the US. The Pacific coast is mainly used for sea shipments in fast boats and semi-submersibles because of its longer coastline with abundant estuaries and rivers for hiding illegal operations.
El Universal (Mexico City) 7/28/08
Following an investigation by the Mexican commission of human rights (CNDH) a case of corruption was reported to Mexican Immigration (INM) regarding the office in Nogales, Sonora. The report involved several officers who exacted money from two Hondurans not only to avoid deportation but also to arrange Mexican birth certificates for them. For this service, they demanded $4,000 US. Through a friend, the Hondurans arranged for part of the money, 28,000 pesos (some $2,775 US), to be deposited as instructed in a specific bank account. The friend did so and then reported the corruption. The account number turned out to be that of the Chief of immigration of the Nogales office.
El Debate (Sinaloa) 7/28/08
The number of murders of police officers from various agencies has nearly tripled from the same period last year. So far this year there have been 69 execution murders of officers compared to 25 for 2007, according to statistics compiled by El Debate. Officials at all three levels of government enforcement agree that the rise in violence is due to the governments increased resistance in the battle against organized crime. The newspaper stated that the remedy is worse than the illness. [Apparently indicating the war against the drug cartels is not worth the sacrifice.]
Milenio (Mexico City) 7/28/08
The deceleration of remittances from US sources is worrying experts at the World Bank who consider these resources a lifeline for a large number of Mexican families. In may of this year, Mexico received 2.18 billion dollars compared to the 2.26 billion last year for the same period, a decrease of 3.4% (sic). From January through May, 2008, 9.512 billion dollars were received, 260 million less than 2007. The article noted that May is a significant month because of Mothers Day when traditionally there is an increase in remittances. They also observed that the slowing of the US economy, especially in construction which employs a high percentage of Mexicans has affected the wages of those who have emigrated. Mexican workers in the US are also having to accept lower wages, they further noted.
Norte (Ciudand Juárez, Chihuahua 7/28/08
Criticizing a newly modified law regarding fines from migrants who re-enter Mexico after having been deported, an official of the Center for Human Rights observed that the law violates the rights of migrants because they have no money to pay fines. They come here looking for enough to survive, no to pay fines, he asserted.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS
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Foreign News Report
The National Association of Former Border Patrol Officers (NAFBPO) extracts and condenses the material that follows from Mexican and Central and South American on-line media sources on a daily basis.
