The Colombian Navy has seized an unmanned drug-smuggling vessel equipped with Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service off the Caribbean coast near Santa Marta.
While the drone semi submersible was not carrying drugs at the time, authorities said it belonged to the Gulf Clan, Colombia’s largest drug trafficking group, and had the capacity to transport 1.5 tons of cocaine. Officials believe the vessel was part of a test run by the cartel.
Colombian Navy Commander Admiral Juan Ricardo Rozo said the seizure of the vessel, capable of transporting up to 1.5 tons of cocaine, marks the first discovery of an autonomous narco sub in South American waters.
Video of @Starlink-equipped drone narco-sub seized by Colombia’s Navy on Wednesday. The submarine didn’t carry any drugs and its believed to have been a trial run. https://t.co/oJkZDIrxQP pic.twitter.com/5NTu58AWHy
— Brian Basson (@BassonBrain) July 3, 2025
“This demonstrates an evolution in the logistical capabilities of drug trafficking, which seeks to surpass traditional approaches through innovation and highly adaptive means.” said Rozo.
Speaking to Naval News, analyst H. I. Sutton said the vessel that was seized is not fully submersible.
“It runs low in the water with just the air inlets and communications antenna above water,” he explained. “This will make it very difficult to detect, although no more so than the crewed equivalent. Therefore, the shift to uncrewed operations isn’t driven by increased stealth.”
Sutton also noted the risks unmanned submersibles pose to smugglers. “The challenge for the narcotics smugglers will be keeping the engine running. There is no crew aboard to fix it if it breaks down.”
Unmanned narco subs have been previously spotted in Europe and Asia. In 2024, Italian police intercepted a remote-controlled sub likely linked to smuggling, and Indian authorities seized a Starlink-operated vessel carrying $4.25 billion in methamphetamine.
