A “drug submarine” was scuttled by its crew when they were surprised by the Army in Honduran waters. This is the first illegal submersible detected in the Honduran region, since others have been intercepted only in Mexican and Guatemalan waters on their route from South to North America to deliver their cargos of narcotic
A “drug submarine” was scuttled by its crew when they were surprised by the Army in Honduran waters. This is the first illegal submersible detected in the Honduran region, since others have been intercepted only in Mexican and Guatemalan waters on their route from South to North America to deliver their cargos of narcotics.
The vessel of irregular origins was sunk 16 nautical miles from Gracias a Dios Cape, in the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of the community of Raya, around 500 kilometers northeast of Tegucigalpa. At the time, it was submerged at a depth of 15 meters, off the coastal community of Raya.
“Divers from the Honduran Navy (FNH) [made] around four dives a day in search of the vessel’s location”, said Honduran Armed Forces spokesperson Col. Alcides Flores before the vessel was found on 27 July.
In this regard, the head of the Joint General Staff of the Honduran Armed Forces, Gen. René Osorio Canales, informed the press that the search operations had been limited by the weather conditions in the area.
The officer indicated that intensive efforts were carried out to recover the vessel, which might have sailed from Colombia, Venezuela, or Panama.
The vessel, made of fiberglass and around 12 meters in length and 3 in width, was equipped with outboard motors and was intercepted by local coast guards who arrested three Colombians and one Honduran who tried to escape on an inflatable raft carrying two packages of cocaine. The crew are being detained at the Caratasca military base, near Raya.