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As we have been hearing, the current administration is taking a MUCH harder stance on South American drug smugglers.<\/p>\n
To date, 20 drug smuggling boats (so they say) have been sunk.<\/p>\n
The attack brings the total number of people killed by the US military\u2019s strikes on the alleged drug boats to 80. CNN has reported that the military is using a variety of fighter jets, drones, and gunships to carry out the strikes in the campaign officials say is meant to disrupt the flow of drugs into the US.<\/p>\n
The Justice Department has told Congress the administration does not need its approval to carry out the strikes, which some experts have said could violate US and international law. CNN<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
20 boats, 80 crew – not exactly passenger-sized manifests.\u00a0 So far, it seems most of the boat pictures I have seen do not exactly look like fishing trawlers. I can hear it now:<\/p>\n
“How fast is that trawler?”<\/p>\n
“Chief, it’s making 35 knots. Three engines, many fuel cans, no nets. Some sort of square bales showing.”<\/p>\n
“Break off, obviously innocent tourists.”<\/p>\n
Somehow that just doesn’t quite ring true. 20 boats can a pretty good number of “square groupers”.<\/p>\n
Another update – the USS Gerald R. Ford has taken up station off the northern coast of Venezuela. Noting that that carrier group alone probably carries more firepower than the entire Venezuelan Air Force – well, 75 aircraft including potentially F-35 fighters, against a mixed force of F-16s and Su-30s two thirds its st\\trength IF all 48 they have purchased were flyable (which we know not to be the case.)\u00a0\u00a0Wiki<\/a>\u00a0Wiki II<\/a><\/p>\n
Most likely, there would not be a mass aircraft strike – more likely this is a FAFO warning to the drug cartels and Venezuela that interfering with our Coasties and aircraft would be like stealing Jobu’s rum. “A bad idea. A VER’ BAD idea!” I’d think a few Tomahawks would begin any show.<\/p>\n
There are those in the world who disapprove of what we are doing, The Brits have stopped officially sharing local Caribbean are intel with us, as have the Columbians.<\/p>\n
Britain stopped passing drug-trafficking intelligence from its Caribbean territories to the Pentagon\u2019s Joint Interagency Task Force South in September, to avoid being \u201ccomplicit in U.S. military strikes\u201d it believes \u201cviolate international law,\u201d CNN<\/a> said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
In the old days the intel sharing would have gone on sub rosa. Now, both countries have very different administrations. Who knows?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"