Puerto Rico and Caribbean Security

U.S. Coast Guard HC-144 aircrew spotted a go‑fast boat about 100 nautical miles north of Camuy, Puerto Rico; the Cutter Joseph Napier was diverted, the crew fled and dumped their cargo, and cutters recovered 29 bales that tested positive for cocaine totaling 2,083 pounds (about $13.3 million), which were turned over to Homeland Security agents in San Juan. The abandoned smuggling boat was later found beached near Arecibo by U.S. Border Patrol with no arrests, and the seizure comes amid the Trump administration’s expanded anti‑drug trafficking push that has included lethal Pentagon strikes on alleged drug boats.

The U.S. Coast Guard says an HC‑144 Ocean Sentry aircrew spotted a suspected drug‑smuggling go‑fast boat about 100 nautical miles north of Camuy, Puerto Rico, on Friday, prompting the cutter Joseph Napier to intercept as the boat’s crew fled and tossed bales into the sea. The cutter recovered 29 waterborne bales that later tested positive for cocaine, weighing a combined 2,083 pounds with an estimated street value of roughly $13.3 million, which were transferred to Homeland Security agents in San Juan. The smuggling vessel itself was later found abandoned and beached near Arecibo by U.S. Border Patrol, and authorities say no arrests have yet been made. The incident adds to a steady tempo of Caribbean interdictions even as, under the Trump administration, the Pentagon has escalated to lethal strikes on alleged drug boats that have killed more than 100 people, a tactic raising increasing legal and human‑rights questions about evidence standards and rules of engagement.