Mexico Finds Tons of Cocaine in Submarine Eder Lopez - Reuters go to original
Mexico's navy captures a makeshift submarine and its crew suspected of drug running. Reuters' Paul Chapman reports.
Salina Cruz, Mexico - The Mexican military, working with information from U.S. intelligence services, found nearly six tonnes of cocaine in a makeshift submarine seized this week off the Pacific coast. The 32-foot (10-metre)-long, green fiberglass craft was designed to travel just beneath the water, leaving almost no wake. It was one of Mexico's largest maritime drug seizures and the first time the country has seen drug smugglers using a submarine, the navy said. On Friday the army laid out more than 200 packages of drugs, tightly wrapped in black plastic, on the dock where the vessel was hauled in. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, in Mexico to discuss an aid package of more than $400 million to fight drug gangs, said the United States had a minor role in the operation. "We shared information with the Mexican navy, but the Mexican navy acted alone. It was actually their seizure, their marines, their helicopters and naval vessels that captured the submarine," Chertoff told reporters in Mexico City. Four Colombians aboard the submarine said they had navigated up the Pacific coast from Colombia, the navy said. Colombian officials told Reuters last month that diesel-powered drug submarines travel up to two weeks to reach Central America and Mexico. The drugs are then hauled overland into the United States. Mexican special forces raided the submarine on Wednesday after they spotted it from the air by helicopter. They detained the crew and brought them and the vessel back to the Pacific port of Salina Cruz in Oaxaca state. Chertoff said the troops swooped down onto the craft using ropes from a hovering helicopter before the crew had time to sink the ship. "This is going to force us to increase surveillance," Vice Adm. Jose Maria Ortegon told reporters in Salina Cruz. The government has made several huge drug seizures by deploying thousands of troops to trafficking hot spots after President Felipe Calderon took office in December 2006. But drug trade specialists say troops and police are failing to tackle drug gangs' financial networks and go after money launderers, which they say would do more to weaken the cartels. Some 1,700 people have been killed in drug gang violence in Mexico so far this year, and Calderon's frontal assault has failed to stop attacks on police and soldiers. Drug hitmen shot and killed a policeman in his office in the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez on Friday, the first time gunmen have penetrated a police building to murder an official in the city, police said. (Additional reporting by Mica Rosenberg in Mexico City, Lizbeth Diaz in Tijuana and Ignacio Alvarado in Ciudad Juarez)Chertoff: US Helped Mexico Detect Drug Submarine Olga R. Rodriguez - Associated Press go to original Mexico City - Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Friday that U.S. intelligence led Mexican forces to a small submarine captured this week packed with 5.8 tons of cocaine. Chertoff called the vessel's seizure Wednesday off Oaxaca state in southern Mexico "a great example of our cooperation." "We shared information with the Mexican navy, but the Mexican navy acted alone in actually executing the seizure," Chertoff told a news conference in Mexico City. Mexican navy Vice Adm. Jose Maria Ortegon said the 30-foot (10-meter) green submarine was equipped with GPS and a compass, and its crew had planned to drop off its shipment on Mexican shores. The navy has since stepped up patrols in the area. Authorities arrested four Colombian crew members who claim to be fishermen forced by drug cartels to move the cargo. They say they left the Colombian port of Buenaventura about a week ago. Similar makeshift submarines carrying drugs have been discovered off Colombia and Central America, but the navy says the seizure is a first for Mexico. Chertoff, who is on a three-day trip to meet with Mexican security officials, said drug cartels are increasingly relying on the subs to smuggle cocaine to the United States. U.S. officials say traffickers use the vessels to carry about 32 percent of the cocaine moved by water from South America to the U.S. Costing about US$1 million, the boats are usually painted to blend in with the color of the water, U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Thad Allen told reporters in Washington on Friday. Many are capable of carrying more than 10 tons of cocaine and can be operated by remote control from hundreds of miles away, Allen said. Drug cartels have been looking for new ways to move drugs north to the United States as the Mexican government cracks down on drug trafficking across the country. President Felipe Calderon has deployed 25,000 soldiers across the country to battle drug gangs, which have responded with bold attacks on the military and police. More than 4,000 people have been killed in turf wars, assassinations and shootouts since Calderon took office in December 2006. Chertoff said Friday that a US$400 million aid package recently approved by the United States would go to help Mexico buy equipment, train agents and coordinate information with the U.S. He also praised Mexico's drug offensive. "My personal belief is that you got to step down very hard very quickly on those people who challenge the rule of law and defy it, and that's why I'm pleased to see the Mexican military has been involved," Chertoff said. "They have been aggressive, and most of all they haven't been intimidated."
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News Around the Republic of Mexico | July 2008 
Eder Lopez - Reuters
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