Colombia and Ecuador Both Seize Narco Subs
Ecuadoran Police Lieutenant Colonel Juan Carlos Gines was understandably proud of his troops for bringing in the narco subs. After all, they’d just seized a 15 meter-long semi-submersible loaded down with three tons of cocaine. Also on board were three Colombian citizens, who went immediately to jail. One day later, the Colombian Navy said they seized a similar craft, near the port of Buenaventura.
The France 24 report from whence we got this says the UN claims Colombia set a new record in cocaine production for 2022, with cultivation now stretching over 230,000 hectares. It also noted that though Ecuador doesn’t produce any cocaine of its own, the country has become a main transport hub for the U.S. and Europe. That, of course, has brought about all kinds of gang violence to this once nominally peaceful land.
We got the narco-sub-seizing story from Juliette Montilly at France 24. For the in-country gang violence we turned to DW News correspondents Clifford Coonan and Thomas Anderson, who produced a terrific piece on the wave of bedlam unleashed by the Cartels across unsuspecting Ecuador. We highly recommend you do likewise.
Seizing Narco Subs
AP correspondents Astrid Suarez and Manuel Rueda had the Colombian narco sub seizing piece, noting it was the first such seizure of the year. Colombian Navy spokesman Capt. Wilmer Roa added that the 15 meter-long, homemade craft was carrying almost 800 kilograms of cocaine in small packages the size of bricks. The packets were were stamped with images of scorpions and Mexican flags. We don’t know the significance of the icons.
“In reality, this was a small” seizure, Roa said. “We’ve caught submarines with almost 3,500 kilos” of the drug.
The piece also notes that in addition to the new record in cocaine land cultivation, the UN’s office for Drug and Crime has also pointed out that potential cocaine production has risen to a record-setting 1,700 tons – a 24% increase from the previous year.
Little wonder the blowback is being felt in neighboring Ecuador, who actually seized its narco sub with a little help from the Colombian Navy.
No Recipe for Success
Like many folks in the addiction treatment biz, we at Healing Properties have no idea how to rid the world of narco subs, let alone, how to create a world where they’re no longer needed. Trying to buy the farmers out of their Cartel deals seems futile, if not downright dangerous. After all, even if the government could pay a commensurate fee for the farmers’ land, the Cartels probably won’t be too happy about the switch. As for stemming the flow on this side of the equation, well, we can only push for more effective treatment, so there’s less customers awaiting the goods. Yet for every soul we help get clean, another three or four seem to take their place.
Still, the brightness we see in the eyes of the newly-sober and the way in which their lives flip their script makes it all worthwhile, no matter how many others come along in their wake.
So, if you or someone you love is experiencing substance abuse issues, please get in touch. We’ve been at this since 2002; we’d be honored to add you to the equation. Really.
Image courtesy U.S. Coast Guard.
