Three drug suspects missing after Coast Guard team fires on smuggling boat

The US Coast Guard has suspended a search for three suspects who went overboard after a boarding party opened fire in self-defense.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, a Dutch navy ship with a USCG boarding party on board spotted a small, suspicious vessel at an unspecified location in the Caribbean. (It is common for allied warships to carry USCG personnel for anti-narcotics boardings in the Caribbean, leveraging their maritime control authority under U.S. law.)

The boat did not stop when stopped and attempted to evade the ban by increasing its speed. He changed direction towards a Dutch pursuit boat and the military on board the pursuit boat opened fire in self-defense. Speeding suspect vessel caught fire and sank, coast guard said; the three suspects on board went overboard and were not found. No Dutch or American personnel were injured in the incident.

Two warships from the Royal Netherlands Navy, two helicopters and a patrol boat from the Netherlands Caribbean Coast Guard joined a search of the area that lasted two days. On Thursday, the team canceled the SAR effort.

“The missions our Coast Guard and allied partners carry out every day to prevent transnational criminal organizations from accessing maritime smuggling routes are inherently dangerous. The decision to suspend active search efforts is not one we take lightly, and the Coast Guard is working to investigate the incident in accordance with Coast Guard policy,” said Lt. -Commander John Beal of the USCG 7th District.

Fatalities during Coast Guard interdiction operations are rare, and the last one occurred on January 1. On New Year's Day, a Coast Guard airborne pursuit team accidentally killed a drug trafficking suspect during an interdiction in the Caribbean. When the suspect boat failed to stop, Coast Guard District Seven authorized the “use of airborne force,” including standard warning fire and incapacitating fire. When the Coast Guard Marine Team arrived on scene to board the suspect vessel, they found that one of the people on board had suffered a gunshot wound. The injured suspect was treated on scene and evacuated to the Dominican Republic for further treatment. The Coast Guard later learned from Dominican authorities that the patient had died from his injuries.