Colombian criminal organizations find new ways to move cocaine as U.S. continues boat strikes

[BeaverFever]

Colombian criminal organizations find new ways to move cocaine as U.S. continues boat strikes

 

 

The United States’ aggressive boat bombing campaign targeting suspected drug traffickers in the Western Hemisphere has begun to reshape Colombia’s drug trade and its long-running armed conflict as criminal organizations find new ways to move cocaine, experts and Indigenous leaders say. 

But the lethal strikes by U.S. forces on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, which have killed at least 126 people since Sept. 2, have done little to make a dent in Colombia’s lucrative cocaine trade. 

…

However, rather than halting the cocaine trade, Operation Southern Spear, as the U.S. military effort is known, appears to have simply displaced it. 

In Colombia’s Pacific region, from which most U.S.-bound cocaine departs, the country’s traffickers are establishing new routes through Ecuador and Peru to reach legal seaports, swapping speedboats for container ships as they adapt toU.S. military threats, said Mr. Florez.

The Caribbean operation has also led to the carving of new routes through the Amazon rain forest into Brazil and Venezuela…,

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-colombian-criminal-organizations-find-new-ways-to-move-cocaine-as-us/

 

[BeaverFever]

Just now, BeaverFever said:

Colombian criminal organizations find new ways to move cocaine as U.S. continues boat strikes

 

 

 

The United States’ aggressive boat bombing campaign targeting suspected drug traffickers in the Western Hemisphere has begun to reshape Colombia’s drug trade and its long-running armed conflict as criminal organizations find new ways to move cocaine, experts and Indigenous leaders say. 

But the lethal strikes by U.S. forces on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, which have killed at least 126 people since Sept. 2, have done little to make a dent in Colombia’s lucrative cocaine trade. 

…

However, rather than halting the cocaine trade, Operation Southern Spear, as the U.S. military effort is known, appears to have simply displaced it. 

In Colombia’s Pacific region, from which most U.S.-bound cocaine departs, the country’s traffickers are establishing new routes through Ecuador and Peru to reach legal seaports, swapping speedboats for container ships as they adapt toU.S. military threats, said Mr. Florez.

The Caribbean operation has also led to the carving of new routes through the Amazon rain forest into Brazil and Venezuela…,

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-colombian-criminal-organizations-find-new-ways-to-move-cocaine-as-us/

 

Wait wait wait you mean the claims that the Cocaine was all coming from Maduro and taking him out would stop it, that was all bullshit ??? Who knew!

 

Gosh those Republicans were wrong on Saddam’s WMD and al-Qaeda links now wrong on this, how unlucky!  Don’t worry they’ll get it right next time, the cocaine and WMD are prorated all stored in Greenland, America must invade ASAP

[John Johnston]

23 minutes ago, BeaverFever said:

Colombian criminal organizations find new ways to move cocaine as U.S. continues boat strikes

 

 

 

The United States’ aggressive boat bombing campaign targeting suspected drug traffickers in the Western Hemisphere has begun to reshape Colombia’s drug trade and its long-running armed conflict as criminal organizations find new ways to move cocaine, experts and Indigenous leaders say. 

But the lethal strikes by U.S. forces on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, which have killed at least 126 people since Sept. 2, have done little to make a dent in Colombia’s lucrative cocaine trade. 

…

However, rather than halting the cocaine trade, Operation Southern Spear, as the U.S. military effort is known, appears to have simply displaced it. 

In Colombia’s Pacific region, from which most U.S.-bound cocaine departs, the country’s traffickers are establishing new routes through Ecuador and Peru to reach legal seaports, swapping speedboats for container ships as they adapt toU.S. military threats, said Mr. Florez.

The Caribbean operation has also led to the carving of new routes through the Amazon rain forest into Brazil and Venezuela…,

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-colombian-criminal-organizations-find-new-ways-to-move-cocaine-as-us/

 

This was never about reducing the cocaine in America anyway. Shrug. 

[User]

1 minute ago, BeaverFever said:

Wait wait wait you mean the claims that the Cocaine was all coming from Maduro and taking him out would stop it, that was all bullshit ??? Who knew!

 

Gosh those Republicans were wrong on Saddam’s WMD and al-Qaeda links now wrong on this, how unlucky!  Don’t worry they’ll get it right next time, the cocaine and WMD are prorated all stored in Greenland, America must invade ASAP

Can you show us "the claims" that said this was all coming from Maduro and taking him out would stop the entire Colombian drug trade?

Talk about an epic strawman. The only BS going on here is yours, as usual. 

Also, your revisionist history is a lie. It was never "Republicans" as most of the world's intelligence agencies made that assessment, foreign governments agreed, it was a bipartisan analysis, contribution, and authorization for use of force. 

Also, it was a common sense logical deduction no less...

 

[BeaverFever]

6 minutes ago, John Johnston said:

This was never about reducing the cocaine in America anyway. Shrug. 

LMAO!  There’s the story changing in real time!  It’s all about the cocaine entering America,  until that claim is debunked, then it was never about that all, it was about…..???????

Hey look! Squirrel!

2 minutes ago, User said:

Can you show us "the claims" that said this was all coming from Maduro and taking him out would stop the entire Colombian drug trade?

Talk about an epic strawman. The only BS going on here is yours, as usual. 

Also, your revisionist history is a lie. It was never "Republicans" as most of the world's intelligence agencies made that assessment, foreign governments agreed, it was a bipartisan analysis, contribution, and authorization for use of force. 

Also, it was a common sense logical deduction no less...

 

LMAO your post says

“We never made those claims!  Also Everyone made those claims not just us”!

Exactly what you said about Iraq  

Both contradictory claims are false. 

Edited February 2 by BeaverFever

[User]

2 minutes ago, BeaverFever said:

LMAO your post says

“We never made those claims!  Also Everyone made those claims not just us”!

Both contradictory claims are false. 

Well, you will resort to any level of being obtuse to avoid the point, which was that it was not just "Republicans," not that I was saying Republicans had nothing to do with it at all. 

Going to just ignore your big straw man lie, though... 

[Deluge]

34 minutes ago, BeaverFever said:

Colombian criminal organizations find new ways to move cocaine as U.S. continues boat strikes

 

 

 

The United States’ aggressive boat bombing campaign targeting suspected drug traffickers in the Western Hemisphere has begun to reshape Colombia’s drug trade and its long-running armed conflict as criminal organizations find new ways to move cocaine, experts and Indigenous leaders say. 

But the lethal strikes by U.S. forces on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, which have killed at least 126 people since Sept. 2, have done little to make a dent in Colombia’s lucrative cocaine trade. 

…

However, rather than halting the cocaine trade, Operation Southern Spear, as the U.S. military effort is known, appears to have simply displaced it. 

In Colombia’s Pacific region, from which most U.S.-bound cocaine departs, the country’s traffickers are establishing new routes through Ecuador and Peru to reach legal seaports, swapping speedboats for container ships as they adapt toU.S. military threats, said Mr. Florez.

The Caribbean operation has also led to the carving of new routes through the Amazon rain forest into Brazil and Venezuela…,

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-colombian-criminal-organizations-find-new-ways-to-move-cocaine-as-us/

 

BananaFever's so excited about Colombia's new paths to drug trafficking that he can't even stand it. 

[Legato]

1 hour ago, BeaverFever said:

Colombian criminal organizations find new ways to move cocaine as U.S. continues boat strikes

 

 

 

The United States’ aggressive boat bombing campaign targeting suspected drug traffickers in the Western Hemisphere has begun to reshape Colombia’s drug trade and its long-running armed conflict as criminal organizations find new ways to move cocaine, experts and Indigenous leaders say. 

But the lethal strikes by U.S. forces on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, which have killed at least 126 people since Sept. 2, have done little to make a dent in Colombia’s lucrative cocaine trade. 

…

However, rather than halting the cocaine trade, Operation Southern Spear, as the U.S. military effort is known, appears to have simply displaced it. 

In Colombia’s Pacific region, from which most U.S.-bound cocaine departs, the country’s traffickers are establishing new routes through Ecuador and Peru to reach legal seaports, swapping speedboats for container ships as they adapt toU.S. military threats, said Mr. Florez.

The Caribbean operation has also led to the carving of new routes through the Amazon rain forest into Brazil and Venezuela…,

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-colombian-criminal-organizations-find-new-ways-to-move-cocaine-as-us/

 

Donkey's bray.

 

[BeaverFever]

3 hours ago, User said:

Well, you will resort to any level of being obtuse to avoid the point, which was that it was not just "Republicans," not that I was saying Republicans had nothing to do with it at all. 

Going to just ignore your big straw man lie, though... 

so now you admit that you made those claims and that they’re incorrect?

 

Who other than Republicans were repeating Trump’s lie that Maduro was deliberately trafficking cocaine into USA to “attack” America and that he had to go to “stop” the cocaine?

 

As we can see, Maduro is gone but the cocaine is still flowing as much as it had before. So what did getting rid of Maduro solve?. 

Edited February 3 by BeaverFever

[User]

18 minutes ago, BeaverFever said:

so now you admit that you made those claims and that they’re incorrect?

Why would I admit that? 
 

 

19 minutes ago, BeaverFever said:

Who other than Republicans were repeating Trump’s lie that Maduro was deliberately trafficking cocaine into USA to “attack” America and that he had to go to “stop” the cocaine?

LOL, your typical dishonest games. 
 

You claimed, and have offered nothing to back this up, because you are full of shit:

”Wait wait wait you mean the claims that the Cocaine was all coming from Maduro and taking him out would stop it, that was all bullshit ??? Who knew!”

 

[WestCanMan]

5 hours ago, BeaverFever said:

Colombian criminal organizations find new ways to move cocaine as U.S. continues boat strikes

Buddy, they've been finding crazy new ways to move cocaine since before you were born, and I'm not kidding. 

Are you really so naive that you think 2026 was the first year ever that drug dealers had to find a more secretive way to move cocaine than "Chuck it in a speedboat and head north"? 😂

FYI there is no "new way" for them to move it. You're just desperate to believe that Trump's war on drugs isn't doing anything so you're seizing on another BS article.

All that happened is that 1) they were getting more and more brazen over time, and just moving it faster and while using less effort to conceal it, and now 2) they have to get inventive again, which takes more time and more money for them. 

Drug shipments won't go down by 90%, but they're down, and profit margins are down even further because:

• in addition to the fact that there's less of it moving,
• people charge more to move it when it's this dangerous
• it costs more money to buy people off when it's this dangerous
• it's slower to move it now
• it takes more time to move drugs when you have to go to great lengths to conceal them

 

Yes: Trump hasn't stopped 100% of all drugs going to the US

No: Drug dealers didn't just start getting creative this year. And it's actually a huge compliment to Trump if you think that they feel like they have to get more creative than ever before.

OH SNAP! I betcha didn't see that last part coming. 

Edited February 3 by WestCanMan

[ironstone]

A good column by Ann Coulter about US intervention(or lack thereof) in South America.

https://anncoulter.com/2026/01/10/the-trump-corollary-were-nation-building-our-nation/

We’re not “nation-building” in Venezuela. We’re “puppet-government-installing.”

And not a moment too soon. Our complete withdrawal from the Western Hemisphere over the past fifty years, while we concentrated on turning distant hellholes like Somalia into “a proud, functioning and viable member of the community of nations,” as Madeleine Albright said in 1993, seems to have left the U.S. sitting in the middle of a crime-ridden ghetto.

Back when the U.S. was constantly meddling in Latin America, removing and inserting leaders at will, I note that 100,000 Americans weren’t dying of drug overdoses every year. Cuba and Venezuela weren’t emptying their prisons and mental institutions into our country for fun. Third Worlders weren’t streaming across our border, killing, raping and robbing Americans. Instead of cocaine and Fentanyl, the region’s main exports were things like oil and sugar. Today, they can’t manage to extract natural resources there for the taking.

[Hodad]

2 minutes ago, ironstone said:

A good column by Ann Coulter about US intervention(or lack thereof) in South America.

https://anncoulter.com/2026/01/10/the-trump-corollary-were-nation-building-our-nation/

We’re not “nation-building” in Venezuela. We’re “puppet-government-installing.”

And not a moment too soon. Our complete withdrawal from the Western Hemisphere over the past fifty years, while we concentrated on turning distant hellholes like Somalia into “a proud, functioning and viable member of the community of nations,” as Madeleine Albright said in 1993, seems to have left the U.S. sitting in the middle of a crime-ridden ghetto.

Back when the U.S. was constantly meddling in Latin America, removing and inserting leaders at will, I note that 100,000 Americans weren’t dying of drug overdoses every year. Cuba and Venezuela weren’t emptying their prisons and mental institutions into our country for fun. Third Worlders weren’t streaming across our border, killing, raping and robbing Americans. Instead of cocaine and Fentanyl, the region’s main exports were things like oil and sugar. Today, they can’t manage to extract natural resources there for the taking.

I'm curious, what could possibly make you think that is a good article? 

Do you really believe that the United States, by divine mandate or "might makes right," should be able to do anything we want to any nation in the Western hemisphere? That the rest of the people of this hemisphere exist to serve American interests and should be manipulated and forced to do so?

Do you think you'd like living under a puppet regime, a people deprived of a voice and bent to serve US interests? Or is that just for brown people?

 

[User]

4 minutes ago, Hodad said:

I'm curious, what could possibly make you think that is a good article? 

Do you really believe that the United States, by divine mandate or "might makes right," should be able to do anything we want to any nation in the Western hemisphere? That the rest of the people of this hemisphere exist to serve American interests and should be manipulated and forced to do so?

Do you think you'd like living under a puppet regime, a people deprived of a voice and bent to serve US interests? Or is that just for brown people?

 

It’s like you didn’t even bother to read the quote that was provided here. 
 

 

[ironstone]

1 hour ago, Hodad said:

I'm curious, what could possibly make you think that is a good article? 

Do you really believe that the United States, by divine mandate or "might makes right," should be able to do anything we want to any nation in the Western hemisphere? That the rest of the people of this hemisphere exist to serve American interests and should be manipulated and forced to do so?

Do you think you'd like living under a puppet regime, a people deprived of a voice and bent to serve US interests? Or is that just for brown people?

 

I describe it as good because I found it interesting.

If you disagree with her premise, then you must think that JFK was wrong to use the threat of military force to get Russian nuclear missiles out of Cuba?

Obama got the US involved (with NATO) in Libya which led to the overthrow of Gaddafi, which led to ongoing instability in the region. Does Obama get a pass because....he's Obama?

The success of US intervention is kind of a mixed bag overall. In the case of Venezuela, it seems most people in that country, and those that were forced to flee, are pleased about Trump's action against Maduro. The same regime is still in power, but I have a feeling they'll be on their best behavior in some time.

Russia and China also have their own spheres of influence although neither is as benevolent as the US tends to be.

[ironstone]

Since my last posting of an Ann Coulter column was such a hit, here's another one 😉 (from Dec 11/2025)

https://anncoulter.com/2025/12/11/innocent-venezuelan-fishermen-hands-up-dont-shoot/

No matter how much I try to ignore the Democrats’ latest “The Walls Are Closing In” spectacle, it has come to my attention that liberals are hopping mad about our military killing two Venezuelan drug traffickers.

Cocaine has killed 100,000 Americans in the last 20 years. Venezuela is a major player in the supply chain that brings it here. But Democrats are concerned with the safety and well-being of the narco-terrorists. Of course, Democrats also root for cop-killers, serial rapists, wife-beaters, drug kingpins, cold-blooded killers and Ana Navarro.

Liberals are OK with killing people unless it’s good for America. They want our military sticking its nose into every bar fight around the globe, while leaving the bad guys in our hemisphere alone.

Venezuela’s drug boats aren’t even coming to the U.S.!

As NBC News exulted, so much for “the administration’s stated rationale for its strikes against suspected drug-smuggling boats.”

Yes, that’s true. Venezuelan drug traffickers aren’t shipping cocaine to the U.S. They’re shipping it to Mexico, where it will be trucked into the U.S.

The entire government of Venezuela is a drug cartel. Their No. 1 export is cocaine. Their No. 2 export is cocaine boats. The national coat of arms is a coke spoon and two straws.

Under President Barack Obama, U.S. attorneys in Miami and New York indicted some of that country’s top military and law enforcement officials, accusing them of working with Colombian drug kingpins to move drugs through Venezuela to the United States.

Nothing changed. Venezuela continued working with the Colombian cartels, and virtually the same indictments were handed up during the first Trump administration, charging government officials with enriching themselves by flooding “the United States with cocaine and inflict[ing] the drug’s harmful and addictive effects on users in this country.”

It’s pretty clear by now — to borrow one of liberals’ favorite locutions — we’re not going to indict our way out of this.

 

[eyeball]

8 minutes ago, ironstone said:

If you disagree with her premise, then you must think that JFK was wrong to use the threat of military force to get Russian nuclear missiles out of Cuba?

I think Ann Coulter needs to have it explained to her how teaching Afghan school girls to read benefits me. (I’m not against it, I just don’t want it on my AmEx.)

Putting it on her AmEx is precisely how it benefits her. Educated girls grow into educated mothers who are best positioned to ensure uneducated boys are less likely to become uneducated terrorists and thugs you need to spend way way more on down the road.

See Charlie Wilson's War, especially how they botched up the peace in the end.

[ironstone]

1 minute ago, eyeball said:

I think Ann Coulter needs to have it explained to her how teaching Afghan school girls to read benefits me. (I’m not against it, I just don’t want it on my AmEx.)

Putting it on her AmEx is precisely how it benefits her. Educated girls grow into educated mothers who are best positioned to ensure uneducated boys are less likely to become uneducated terrorists and thugs you need to spend way way more on down the road.

See Charlie Wilson's War, especially how they botched up the peace in the end.

The Afghan girls were going to school and learning to read and write, but that changed after Biden's rather chaotic withdrawal and the Taliban took over...again.

 

I think women in those countries should have equal rights, but if they don't, the problem may lie with their particular faith.

Ilhan Omar got an education right in the US, and she utterly despises America. 

[eyeball]

1 hour ago, ironstone said:

The Afghan girls were going to school and learning to read and write, but that changed after Biden's rather chaotic withdrawal and the Taliban took over...again.

No man, you gotta go back to Ronald Reagan to understand what I'm getting at. That was when dollars should have been invested in education in Afghanistan, following the defeat of the Soviet Union that the US helped bankroll - the US failed to invest in post war rebuilding and education and basically washed its hands of a profoundly shell-shocked and abused population where the average age was 14 or something.

They grew up to be the Taliban, and people saw it coming. Probably people who make money money providing weapons especially.

[gatomontes99]

The purpose of this thread was to make the case that stopping one form of smuggling is not worth it because they'll just find another way. Which is a defeatist attitude.

BTW, you know how they are smuggling it now, so guess who else knows? And, do you think it is easier or harder to search a giant ship over a tiny boat? 

Obviously, the giant ship is way easier. We know where it is. It moves much slower AND they can't sneak into port. This is a big win if they are being this obvious. 

Edited February 5 by gatomontes99