|
Once
Covert,
Practice
of
US
Coast
Guard
Firing
on
Suspected
Drug
Boats
Revealed
9/17/99
Coast guard helicopters have,
for the past year, been given the green light to fire upon speedboats suspected
of carrying drugs, Administration officials announced this week.
The strategy, called "Operation New Frontier," is really more of a throwback
to the days of alcohol prohibition, the last time that the coast guard
had permission to fire on suspects in the open seas.
Drug Czar Barry McCaffrey
told reporters that the strategy has led to the capture of four boats,
with thirteen crew members and more than three tons of cocaine in the past
year. "We have made the drug smugglers afraid," said McCaffrey.
"And now we will make them disappear."
But despite the tough talk,
the government's own information, which indicates that smugglers make more
than a trip per day between Colombia and Puerto Rico, Haiti or the Dominican
Republic, puts in perspective the success rate of four boats captured in
a year's time.
Officials assured reporters
that the purpose of the operation is not to kill suspected smugglers, saying
that firing "at the craft's engine" was a last resort undertaken only after
repeated warnings to stop. Sharpshooter Charlie Hopkins said, "we're
still humanitarian. We just want to stop the flow."
-- END --
|
Issue #108, 9/17/99
Court Reverses Self: No Warrant Needed for Thermal Imaging | US Appeals Court Rules for Cannabis Clubs, Clears Way for Distribution to Patients With Medical Necessity | Amnesty International Report Shows Collusion Between Colombian Army and Murderous Paramilitary Forces | Once Covert, Practice of US Coast Guard Firing on Suspected Drug Boats Revealed | House Committee: Feds Fabricated Drug Charge to Bring in Army at Waco | CONFERENCE: Preventing Heroin Overdose: Pragmatic Approaches, Seattle, Year 2000 | Editorial: Those Helicopters
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