cannabisnews.com: Coast Guard Fires at Drug Boats





Coast Guard Fires at Drug Boats
Posted by FoM on September 13, 1999 at 16:00:41 PT
By The Associated Press
Source: New York Times
Coast Guard sharpshooters have been firing from helicopters to knock out the engines of cocaine-laden boats in the Caribbean, officials disclosed Monday. The tactic -- one not used since the 1920s Prohibition era -- has already netted three tons of cocaine.
The previously secret assaults have been used in recent weeks to stop smugglers who now use open-hull, low-profile boats called ``Super Smugglers'' or ``Go-Fasts'' that carry barrels of fuel and about a ton of cocaine each. The use of such boats has doubled since 1996, officials say, and they now carry more than 85 percent of all maritime drug shipments. ``Operation New Frontier'' has led to the capture of 13 crew members from four boats and more than three tons of cocaine destined for the U.S. market, said Barry McCaffrey, White House drug control director. He said it and other anti-drug operations in the past year have brought cocaine confiscation to a record 53 tons, with a street value of $3.7 billion. ``We have made the drug smugglers afraid. We will now make them disappear,'' McCaffrey said at a news conference alongside one of the specially equipped MH90 Enforcer helicopters leased by the Coast Guard. The helicopter and a sleek Coast Guard chase craft were brought to the Transportation Department aboard flatbed trucks. Three of the four ``Super Smugglers'' stopped so far were disabled in the last month. None of the four crews fired back, Coast Guard officials said, but U.S. agents are allowed to return lethal fire if they do. The latest tactics include machine-gun fire across boats' bows, use of a ``stingball'' that explodes into a shower of rubber pellets and a special net that entangles a boat's engines. Using a sharpshooter is the Coast Guard's last resort to stop the boats. Sharpshooter Charlie Hopkins, nicknamed ``El Diablo'' because his .50-caliber Robar rifle bears the packing number 999, fired three shots Aug. 16 that disabled a vessel. Hopkins, 32, of Winslow, Maine, said he aims his laser targeting sight only at the speeding crafts' engines. ``We're still humanitarian. We just want to stop the flow,'' he said in an interview, noting that the each helicopter carries a life raft in case a boat is accidentally blown up or sunk. Adm. James E. Loy, Coast Guard commandant, said there was no chance that commercial fishermen or pleasure boaters would be targeted by the sharpshooters, saying that identification and extensive warnings are required before aggressive tactics are employed. ``This special show is not going to be coming to a theater near you,'' he said in an effort to reassure private boaters. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, who oversees the Coast Guard, said ``Operation New Frontier'' will lead to other high-tech interventions to counter drug smuggling. The Clinton administration is asking for $17.8 billion to fight illegal drugs next year. The officials declined to provide further details of the new tactics. But a Coast Guard background briefing described the dramatic encounters and released videotape of two incidents that showed helicopters as they stopped speeding vessels. The Coast Guard is not believed to have authorized firing from the air to disable vessels since fixed-wing aircraft were used to chase down and stop shipments of illegal alcohol in the 1920s, according to the service's historian's office. Loy said although the new tactics were not intended to kill or injure, they do put smugglers in increased danger. ``If there's a new risk on the part of the bad guys, that's terrific,'' he said. The ``Go-Fasts'' represent a change in strategy for drug smugglers, who have seen a halt to big cargo flights out of Colombia, McCaffrey said. The Coast Guard's previous tactic, firing warning shots from the sea at the speedy boats, was ineffective, considering that smugglers average more than a trip a day between Colombia and Puerto Rico, Haiti or the Dominican Republic en route to the United States. September 13, 1999Copyright 1999 The New York Times Company 
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Comment #11 posted by observer on April 24, 2001 at 08:54:40 PT
shoot first, ask questions later
seehttp://www.cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=peru+missionaries+shot
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Comment #10 posted by observer on April 02, 2001 at 18:31:17 PT
Like BATF, Coast Guard Came from Treasury Dept
 Coast Guard . . . firing from helicopters [on] boats in the Caribbean, officials disclosed Monday. The tactic -- one not used since the 1920s Prohibition era The only armed force exempted from Posse Comitatus is the Coast Guard. Then a part of the Treasury Department, it served well in Prohibition enforcement between 1920 and 1933. In so doing, it pursued its historic function suppression of smuggling - a thankless task in which its performance was hampered by deep-seated public resistance. . . .The records of its involvement with Prohibition, its accomplishments in the current effort, and its historic role in the suppression of smuggling suggest the military has been a strong partner in a daunting task. Because of present proper legal restrictions, it may not be able to expand its role. -- Alexander Monroe, retired captain in the Naval Reserve assigned to the office of the command historian, U.S. Joint Forces Command, where he wrote 'Caribbean Barrier,' a history of counterdrug operations by the Atlantic Command (1989-97).http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n578/a09.htmlThe Coast Guard had their humble beginnings as part of the Treasury Department, did they? Born into into firing on rum-runners, were they? The Coast Guard had their rude genesis as lowly revenuers, no? I never knew that sorry fact before. Just saw this article today and thought I'd share.Didn't the beloved BATF (Burn All Toddlers First) also spring from the Treasury Department?Fun facts to know and tell, a mile-a-minute here on http://www.CannabisNews.com !
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Comment #9 posted by observer on February 20, 2001 at 16:00:37 PT
About Face It
 TO OSERVER'S POSTING: So your solution is 'do nothing'? I'm having to guess it is, because you had all comments and no suggestions. My suggestion is to do the same thing as we do for alcohol: return to adult Americans the traditional freedoms all Americans once shared. And your comparison of the Coast Guard to the Nazi Gestapo is almost too embarrassing to read. If you reach too hard and start writing nonsense, it will be treated as such, regardless of who reads it. Many drug warriors are in denial, so just stick their authoritarian heads in the sand. Ridiculing the comparison won't make it disappear, by the way. (For those interested in this comparison, please read: Drug Warriors & their Prey, by Richard Miller. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0275950425 Here's a review: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/media/rlmiller.htm Here's another review: http://www.november.org/0611.html ) So the CG sailor has a 'vested interest' in 'escalating the drug war'? Lets see...if he's in the CG, his advancement (ever so slightly) relies upon stopping the flow of drugs and getting us closer to the end of the drug war, not escalating the flow. Yes, 'escalating the drug war', as in using ever greater firepower. That's "escalation", for those not familiar with what "escalation" means. The more escalation of the drug war, the bigger the budget of folks like the Coast Guard. Most people are able to follow that. Since youre unfamiliar, I'll explain. Performance is rated on stupid things like how well your uniform looks, how well you salute, and how neat and tidy your paperwork is; not on how many tons of drugs you single handedly siezed yourself and how many drug runners you personally cuffed. 30,000 people max. Probably presently only 26,000 or so. Thats how many people are in the Guard. Less than the population of any given small town in BFE central Texas. Compare that against the coastal and surrounding international areas to be covered by CG Law Enforcement.If they are spread so thin, maybe it makes sense to go back to saving people in sinking boats, instead of wasting time, money and effort blowing away run-runners? You do no research, make thin judgements, I'll let others be the judge of that. and dont do the simple math. I needed no "math" for the facts presented in my response. But alas, it's hopeless with you; I realize by your arguments that you think that cocaine is a viable 'commodity' or 'product' that 'consumers' want and should be allowed to purchase like no more than McDonald's cheeseburgers. Look up the words: my usage of thme was completely accurate. This may come as a shock to you, but most people buy drugs, because they want to.No one is suggesting that cocaine be sold as "McDonald's cheeseburgers." But your response is classic: (propaganda theme number 7): ``Policy Options are Presented as Total Prohibition or Total Access.``Prohibitionists have always characterized themselves as being in a moral/religious battle against evil. This quality of the prohibitionist movements eliminated the option of compromise. The choice as they saw and presented it was total prohibition or total access to the hated drugs.''Themes in Chemical Prohibition, NIDA, 1979http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/ticp.html  Excellent synonyms...to damning to use the real words? Those are the "real words": look them up, if you don't understand them. Now get real. I included some CG stats below: Search and Rescue in 1996- 42000 cases, 5000 lives saved Drug Interdiction in 2001- 27300 lbs. of cocaine seized Wow! With body-counts like that, "the problem" should have been licked long ago. Wonder why the price of hard drugs like cocaine and heroin dropped if the CG was such a stunning success? Not able to search every container on every container ship, huh? OBSERVER:"That describes Coast Guard careerists who lust to fire upon commercial boats, rather than saving people at sea. Thanks for nothing.", Glad I said that! Thanks for reminding me... he said until his motor quit 160 miles offshore... Yeah right, and the CG is 700 miles away firing on a trawler for a bale of pot. First things first, eh? My taxes went to stop almost 14 tons of coke And the price of cocaine still dropped. Taxes went to produce big body counts in Vietnam to prove we were winning there, too. and save 500 lives via search and rescue in just a month and a half. Ome can one speculate how many more lives would have been saved had the CG not been playing narc and war games with rum-runners. Good enough for me. Find out what the CG does! They have virtually nothing but peacetime missions, When they're not firing on (suspected) "drug" boats, you mean. Again, thanks for nothing, Goast Guard. Thanks for "protecting" our freedom.I ask again, if this tactic failed in the 20s, why will the same thing work now?  Perhaps you can explain why firing on rum-runners will work better now than in the 1920s.Success Update: Let's see. After 20 years of relentless federal Drug War activity... the price of quality cocaine has plummeted from $125 a gram to $30, and 30%-pure heroin has dropped from $700 a gram to about $100. Way to go, boys! -- High Times, April 1995 
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Comment #8 posted by Navigator on February 20, 2001 at 14:49:14 PT:
face it
The Guard is doing what it's paid to do. Drug interdiction is one (and only one of a long list) of its primary missions. For the literalists...don't play dumb. Just because the name is "Coast Guard", does not mean that they cannot venture into international waters. Do some research; just like the Navy, there are CG stations all across the globe. Other missions of the Guard, such as Search and Rescue, vessel safety, and military preparedness are required to take place well beyond the physical boundries of the United States all the time. We're not talking about weed here, guys, this stuff is the bonafide human equivalent of rat poison. If it takes a bullet thru the engine block to stop the boat so the runners can be aprehended and the blow confiscated, so be it. TO OSERVER'S POSTING: So your solution is 'do nothing'? I'm having to guess it is, because you had all comments and no suggestions. And your comparison of the Coast Guard to the Nazi Gestapo is almost too embarrassing to read. If you reach too hard and start writing nonsense, it will be treated as such, regardless of who reads it. So the CG sailor has a 'vested interest' in 'escalating the drug war'? Lets see...if he's in the CG, his advancement (ever so slightly) relies upon stopping the flow of drugs and getting us closer to the end of the drug war, not escalating the flow. Since youre unfamiliar, I'll explain. Performance is rated on stupid things like how well your uniform looks, how well you salute, and how neat and tidy your paperwork is; not on how many tons of drugs you single handedly siezed yourself and how many drug runners you personally cuffed. 30,000 people max. Probably presently only 26,000 or so. Thats how many people are in the Guard. Less than the population of any given small town in BFE central Texas. Compare that against the coastal and surrounding international areas to be covered by CG Law Enforcement. You do no research, make thin judgements, and dont do the simple math. But alas, it's hopeless with you; I realize by your arguments that you think that cocaine is a viable 'commodity' or 'product' that 'consumers' want and should be allowed to purchase like no more than McDonald's cheeseburgers. Excellent synonyms...to damning to use the real words? Now get real. I included some CG stats below:Search and Rescue in 1996- 42000 cases, 5000 lives savedDrug Interdiction in 2001- 27300 lbs. of cocaine seizedOBSERVER:"That describes Coast Guard careerists who lust to fire upon commercial boats, rather than saving people at sea. Thanks for nothing.", he said until his motor quit 160 miles offshore...My taxes went to stop almost 14 tons of coke and save 500 lives via search and rescue in just a month and a half. Good enough for me.Find out what the CG does! They have virtually nothing but peacetime missions, unlike ALL the other military services, who concentrate 99% of their efforts on military preparedness.
CG site
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Comment #7 posted by observer on January 23, 2001 at 16:38:24 PT
Gung-Ho Lemmings
Since coming into the Coast Guard in 1995, I see: so you have a vested interest (career advancement, pension ,etc.) in escalating the drug "war". Gotcha.this is the first actual positive attempt to stop drug runners. The USCG has been firing on suspected "drug" boats for years. Hasn't stopped anything. Drugs have gotten cheaper. However, careerist drug wariors have enrished themselves at the expense of the American people.Go back and read this article: "The tactic -- one not used since the 1920s Prohibition era -- has already netted three tons of cocaine." If "the tactic" failed in the 20s, why will the same thing work now? It won't. How can someone analyze what we are doing if they don't understand how many bails of cocaine, weed, and other narcotics are being stopped by us?Was someone arguing that you stop counting the drugs you manage to seize? No. We, The U.S. Coast Guard, have been highly success in using this newly attained assest This is amusing. Who are you fooling? Drugs (especially hard-drugs like heroin and cocaine) have dropped in price over your little tenure. Your effort isn't "successful", it is a failure: just as your Coast Guard failed to stop alcohol from entering the country during (alcohol) Prohibition. Same thing. and will continue to fight for the rights of the nation's people What blatant doublethink. Let me get this straight: by firing on peaceful people in boats, who are brining in commodities demanded by American adults -- products that all Americans were once free to consume -- you're fighting "for the rights of the nation's people"?  Only in the same sense that the Gestapo faught for the "rights" of Jews. In order to "fight for the rights of the nation's people", (drug warriors assert), the people had to have their rights taken from them. A glowing example of doublethink. http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=doublethink by stopping all possible forms of narcotics transportation. You're dreaming. If you're "stopping all possible forms of narcotics transportation", then why are all drugs that Americans desire to have, now available? You're not stopping diddly. A flotilla of cutters forming a continuous chain around the nation will never stop the millions of Americans with plants in the basement, attic and closet. It won't stop the meth cookers from replacing cocaine with meth. You just insure that dealers make obscene profits, nothing more. Does anyone have any other solutions to stopping the drugs from entering our country? A false "problem" to which governments are only too willing to "solve" by taking more traditional rights from adult Americans, and giving more power to government. A nice 'solution" to the "problem" -- if you work for government, that is. (That describes Coast Guard careerists who lust to fire upon commercial boats, rather than saving people at sea. Thanks for nothing.) Instead of more tilting at windmills, Americans are increasingly demanding that traditional freedoms -- freedoms over their own bodies, the traditional freedom to use cannabis (for example) -- be restored to them. They are learning that prohibition didn't come from God, but to the contrary, prohibition comes from corrupted/power tripping bureaucrats. Americans want their traditional righs back. "The tactic -- one not used since the 1920s Prohibition era -- has already netted three tons of cocaine." Hey, that "tactic" kept Americans from drinking in the 20s, so I'm sure it will be equally successful now.Insanity [is] ... Continuing to do the same things and expecting different results.-- Albert Einstein 
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Comment #6 posted by Jason22 on January 23, 2001 at 15:50:38 PT:
Do You Understand??
Since coming into the Coast Guard in 1995, this is the first actual positive attempt to stop drug runners. How can someone analyze what we are doing if they don't understand how many bails of cocaine, weed, and other narcotics are being stopped by us? We, The U.S. Coast Guard, have been highly success in using this newly attained assest and will continue to fight for the rights of the nation's people by stopping all possible forms of narcotics transportation. Does anyone have any other solutions to stopping the drugs from entering our country? If you do, please let me or any other Coast Guard member the idea. It may make a difference. 
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Comment #5 posted by justin lee on January 10, 2001 at 11:22:34 PT
GET REAL
It seems to me that some people dont get it. The coast guard is also responsible for protecting our boarders and making sure no illegal actions are occuring in and around our coastline. So drug interdiction is perfectly fine and it is only making our country a cleaner and more honest one.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on September 13, 1999 at 19:38:33 PT
This is unreal to me
Thanks Rainbow! It really is something them shooting! It shocked me! Maybe I'm too sheltered but I thought the Coast Guard helps people that need to be rescued, not being drug cops with guns!!!Peace, FoM!
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Comment #3 posted by rainbow on September 13, 1999 at 19:23:17 PT:
Navy News
My Dad was in the US Navy and gets the Navy News online. He sent me the following article about the same thing. What gets me is the fact that the coast guard is 180 miles south of the Jamaca and i thought they were intended to protect teh coast of America. Wow was I ever wrong, but then we do live in a blurred society.Navnews by e-mail: Navnews is an official product of the Naval Media Center. If you have any questions or comments, please call Mr. Dennis Everette, editor, at (703)695-0911 (DSN 225). For all other Navy Information related questions call (703)697-5342. To subscribe or unsubscribe to Navnews by e-mail, send an e-mail message to with the single word subscribe or unsubscribe in the subject line. The text area of your message must be left blank. E-mail all stories to .-USN-NNS4102. Navy patrol aircraft assist in 2,000-pound     cocaine bustby JO1 David Rush, NS Roosevelt Roads Public Affairs   NAVAL STATION ROOSEVELT ROADS, Puerto Rico (NWS) -- With the help of a P-3C Orion aircraft from Patrol Squadron 26 (VP-26), two U.S. Coast Guard cutters intercepted approximately 2,000 pounds of cocaine Sept. 2 in waters 180 miles south of Jamaica.   The Navy maritime patrol aircraft, assigned to Roosevelt Roads, initially detected, monitored and coordinated the intercept of a 35-foot go-fast vessel attempting to smuggle 40 50-pound packages of cocaine into the United States.   At Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, alternating P-3C Orion and E-2C Hawkeye squadrons use their aircraft to detect and monitor vessels attempting to smuggle narcotics through the Caribbean basin. Currently, Hawkeyes, flown by the Seahawks of Airborne Early Warning Squadron 126 (VAW-126) and Orions, flown by the Tridents of Patrol Squadron 26 (VP 26), maintain a discreet, yet powerful vigil throughout the Caribbean to catch elusive traffickers.   Stemming the flow of narcotics is accomplished through collaborative efforts between the squadrons, the Joint Interagency Task Force East (JIATF East) and the Tactical Support Center (TSC) located within the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility (AFWTF). TSC personnel stand watch 24-hours a day, seven days a week, in the effort to stop drugs from entering the United States. They communicate with Navy air assets, gather intelligence and work closely with JIATF East.   According to Capt. Steve Shegrud, AFWTF's commanding officer, the Navy's involvement in counter-narcotic operations is essential. "The Navy's job down here is extremely important," said Shegrud. "Working with the local authorities is something we are proud to do in order to help protect the interests of Puerto Rico and the United States."   Patrol plane co-pilot Lt.j.g. Jim Lawson of VP-26 echoes Shegrud's sentiments. "We're probably their worst nightmare as they try to make their drug deliveries. You can tell by the way that they act when we do spot them. Just the sight of an Orion will make them dump the drugs overboard or turn around and go back. They know we're out there looking for them."   Lawson believes the Navy's constant patrols are making a difference. "We have aircraft flying around the clock. The best thing we could do is find a drug smuggler, pass them off to other agencies involved and watch the Coast Guard make the bust. That's the biggest thrill for us. We come back to the hangar giving each other high-fives. That's more drugs off the streets of America. It's a great mission. It's a mission that has a direct effect on American society."   Navy ships and aircraft performing counter-drug operations in waters surrounding South America and Caribbean are operationally attached to Commander Task Force 40 (CTF 40) and under tactical control of Joint Interagency Task Force East.   Through integration with the Director of JIATF East and Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area, Navy units are significant participants in counter-drug operations. Navy aircraft and ships assist the Coast Guard in the detection, monitoring and interdiction of illegal drugs transiting from South America through Central America, hindering the flow of drugs into the U.S. -USN-
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on September 13, 1999 at 19:04:58 PT
It surprised me!
When I saw this article I could barely believe it. It has been on CNN tonight too. I don't know what to say but it must stop. The drug war causes far more damage then drug use ever could.
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Comment #1 posted by Nate Adams on September 13, 1999 at 19:00:05 PT:
FACISM!!!!
How far can the police state extend itself in the name of "safety" before all our freedoms are regimented? Don't you think it's hypocritical that the war on drugs is meant to protect American lives, but then they end up destroying them through the prison system and now high-powered rifles? It's time we started asking ourselves who the "bad guys" really are. 
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