Operation Martillo

6 Photos

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Gallatin, the largest and most capable Coast Guard vessel patrolling the Caribbean Sea, participated in Operation Martillo. (Courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard)

A Coast Guard Cutter Valiant boarding officer examines the contraband intercepted on May 31 that tested positive for cocaine. (Courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard)

Guided missile frigate USS Nicholas collaborated with the Colombian navy in the interception of a speedboat carrying more than US$59 million in cocaine in the western Caribbean Sea on May 6. (Courtesy of the U.S. Navy)

The U.S. Coast Guard seized 2,654 pounds of cocaine, worth about US$32.5 million, on May 31 off a boat in the Caribbean Sea. (Courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard)

A go-fast boat carrying about 2,200 kilograms (4,850 pounds) of cocaine was intercepted by U.S. and Colombian naval forces in the western Caribbean Sea on May 6. (Courtesy of the U.S. Navy)

A sinking self-propelled semi-submersible vessel was interdicted in the Western Caribbean Sea March 30 by the crews of the Coast Guard Cutter Decisive, Coast Guard Cutter Pea Island and the Honduran Navy. The cutter Pea Island and Decisive’s pursuit boatcrews interdicted the SPSS and detained four suspected smugglers. The SPSS sank during the interdiction in thousands of feet of water. (Courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard)

Special Report

For decades, Ecuador was perceived as an exception in a region plagued by drug trafficking, armed violence, and criminal capture of the state. While neighboring countries faced open wars between cartels and state forces, Ecuador seemed to remain on the sidelines of these dynamics. That image began to slowly crack and finally collapsed in January […]

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