Drug cartels in the Caribbean are reportedly adapting their smuggling routes to avoid the deployment of U.S. warships in the region, largely meant to put pressure on Venezuela's authoritarian regime.
The administration has conducted at least five strikes against vessels that the administration claimed were transporting drugs that would ultimately be smuggled into the U.S. The Dominican Republic confirmed that was the case in one of them, claiming that it scattered 375 packages of cocaine into the sea after killing three people.
A new report by The New York Times detailed that the area has again become a hub for drug-trafficking organizations following increased enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border. As a result, some Colombian cocaine is being outed through Venezuela before being repackaged in Trinidad, Jamaica, or the Dominican Republic.
From there, drugs are hidden in cargo shipments or moved by fast boats toward Europe, Australia, and other high-price markets, the outlet noted.
Strikes have not eliminated trafficking, just rerouted the flow, regional officials said. In Trinidad and Tobago, illegal air drops from South America have increased, with larger vessels collecting floating bales at sea. In Jamaica, smugglers are dividing shipments into smaller loads and concealing drugs in food containers to reduce losses if intercepted.
Global cocaine production and demand remain at record highs. The U.S. Coast Guard seized nearly 175,000 kilos of cocaine on the high seas in the last fiscal year, including 64 tons in the Caribbean.
Moreover, experts interviewed by the outlet say the strikes are unlikely to significantly disrupt supply.
But the Trump administration seems intent on pushing forward. Trump announced on Tuesday that the U.S. has struck a fifth vessel off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people.
Despite the escalation, Venezuelan insiders have claimed that Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro won't relinquish power voluntarily despite increased pressure.
Speaking to Spanish outlet El Pais, one people with knowledge of the regime's thinking said "Maduro is not going anywhere." "Maduro has practically no other fate than resisting whatever comes and waiting for Trump to hesitate," the person added.
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