International Drug Trafficking

France’s navy intercepted a Togo‑flagged fishing vessel in the South Pacific on Jan. 16 and seized 4.87 tons of cocaine believed to be headed for the Australian market, the French High Commission in French Polynesia said Monday. The ship, reportedly coming from Central America, was boarded after French forces deployed a helicopter and other 'significant human and material resources' in what officials called a record haul for the region. The 11 crew members — 10 Hondurans and one Ecuadoran — will not be prosecuted by France, though their home countries may pursue charges. Authorities framed the bust as an early success of a new territorial anti‑narcotics plan and as evidence of deepening regional cooperation with partners including the United States and Australia against Pacific drug‑trafficking routes that U.N. agencies say are expanding. Recent seizures off West Africa, the Atlantic and Australia show fishing boats are increasingly being used as global cocaine carriers, a trend Western navies and coast guards are trying to disrupt.

The Colombian Navy says it intercepted a 'go‑fast' speedboat about 140 nautical miles off Tumaco in the South Pacific, seizing roughly 2,000 kilograms (4,400 pounds) of cocaine and 270 gallons of fuel and arresting three Colombian nationals. Video released by the navy shows armed personnel boarding the boat and ordering the suspects face‑down before offloading stacks of drug bales later displayed onshore; authorities value the shipment at more than $95 million and claim it would have yielded about 4.9 million retail doses. The bust comes as the Trump administration has escalated its own lethal maritime campaign against suspected drug‑running vessels off South America, operations CBS notes have already killed more than 100 people since September and drawn scant public accounting of who was on those boats. Washington has publicly branded Colombia an 'illegal drug leader,' sanctioned President Gustavo Petro and his family, and even removed the country from its list of allies in the drug war, but Petro’s government has touted several large seizures in recent months as evidence it is acting — including a 14‑ton port bust and multiple Pacific interdictions of speedboats and a 'narco sub.' The latest haul underscores how Colombia is trying to show results under intense U.S. pressure even as Trump hints at possible military action and both governments grope toward a reset after a recent 'very positive' call and a White House invitation for Petro.