The Dominican Republic announced Sunday that authorities had seized cocaine from a speedboat recently destroyed by the U.S. Navy during its ongoing anti-narcotics operations in the Caribbean.
On Friday, President Donald Trump said U.S. forces carried out a third lethal strike this month against a vessel allegedly involved in drug trafficking, killing three suspected traffickers. The operation took place within the area of responsibility of U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM), which covers Central and South America as well as the Caribbean.
At a press conference, the Dominican Republic’s National Directorate for Drug Control (DNCD) said it recovered 377 packages from the vessel, which was reportedly carrying around 1,000 kilograms more than one ton of cocaine.
The DNCD said in a statement that the drugs were recovered following “an aerial military strike by the United States against a narcotics-trafficking speedboat.”
According to Dominican officials, the “Go Fast” type speedboat was tracked in coordination with USSOUTHCOM and the Joint Interagency Task Force South. Intelligence suggested the vessel intended to dock in the Dominican Republic before transporting the cocaine to the United States.
“This is the first time in history that the United States and the Dominican Republic carry out a joint operation against narco terrorism in the Caribbean,” the directorate noted in its statement.
In August, the U.S. deployed eight warships and a submarine to the southern Caribbean to expand anti-trafficking patrols. Since the start of the operation, U.S. forces have destroyed at least three boats, killing more than a dozen people.
