The US Coast Guard announced the interception of a so-called “narco submarine," while in a joint patrol of Caribbean waters with the Honduran armed forces. On July 13, the crew of the Coast cutter Seneca, interdicted the craft, called a self-propelled semi-submersible or SPSS, off the coast of Honduras near the Nicaraguan border. The Coast Guard says the vessel sank during the interdiction, but that nearly 7.5 tons of cocaine was later recovered. Four crew members—three Colombians and a Honduran—were detained and brought by the Coast Guard to Miami to face federal charges. (La Tribuna, El Heraldo, Tegucigalpa, Aug. 2; CBS Miami, Aug. 1; Notimex, July 30)
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US Coast Guard intercepts another narco-submarine
The US Coast Guard seized 12,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $180 million when it intercepted a semi-submersible vessel in the eastern Pacific last month. The 40-foot long homemade craft was spotted July 18 by a US Navy aircraft, which called the crew of the Coast Guard cutter Stratton to a spot 200 miles south of Mexico. Four men were taken into custody and the Coast Guard discovered 16,000 pounds of cocaine aboard. (CNN, Aug. 7)