Information that the Colombian Navy provided to U.S. and Panamanian authorities led to the execution of three international maritime operations and the seizure of 2,054 kilograms of narcotics in the Pacific Ocean.
With this blow to criminal organizations, authorities prevented the distribution and consumption of 2.7 million doses of illicit drugs.
The first operation took place on June 5, 2021, 210 nautical miles northeast of the city of Manta, Ecuador, where Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-South), a U.S. Southern Command component, used information from the Colombian Navy to intercept a fishing vessel carrying 900 kg of cocaine.
The second operation occurred on the same day, 85 nautical miles southeast of Punta Mala, Pedasí district, in Panama, where elements of JIATF-South and the Panamanian National Air and Naval Service (SENAN, in Spanish), with information from the Colombian Navy, seized 243 kg of marijuana found on a speedboat.
Later, during a third maritime interdiction operation carried out 30 nautical miles northeast of the same area, Panamanian authorities intercepted a second vessel carrying 861 kg of marijuana and 50 kg of cocaine.
These three outcomes were possible thanks to coordinated work and interoperability among the countries in the region, under their international cooperation agreements to counter illicit drugs.