The United States military has launched a broad campaign of airstrikes against suspected drug smuggling vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, using MQ-9 Reaper drones, AC-130J aircraft and other combat aircraft.
Washington claims it aims to stem the flow of drugs into the US and since the beginning of September, 76 people have been killed in 19 attacks that destroyed 20 ships, writes "CNN".
Most of the attacks, according to sources, were carried out by MQ-9 Reaper drones, which are armed with Hellfire missiles. Although the Pentagon has not yet officially confirmed what equipment it uses, it is known that the US Army has concentrated significant forces in Puerto Rico, including MQ-9 Reaper drones, F-35 fighter jets and at least one AC-130J. It is assumed that these forces are used for attacks in the Caribbean.
Satellite imagery and photographs confirm an unusually high level of military activity in the region. The Roosevelt Roads Naval Base in Puerto Rico, closed since 2004, has been reopened. Last week, a US Air Force AC-130J aircraft was also photographed in El Salvador, at the US Comalapa Air Base.
Although the US base in El Salvador has served primarily as a base for unarmed reconnaissance aircraft since 2000, its new role is crucial for operations in the Pacific Ocean. Previously, smugglers' boats in the Pacific were too far away for attack aircraft based in Puerto Rico or the US.
“Operating from Compala offers more opportunities and allows for surveillance and protection of a much larger part of the Pacific Ocean through which this large portion of cocaine trafficked to the U.S. passes,” says Dr. Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Change of strategy and high costs
In recent weeks, as CNN reports, the Pentagon has shifted its strategy and is targeting suspected smugglers in the eastern Pacific instead of the Caribbean. Administration officials believe they have stronger evidence linking cocaine shipments from those routes to the United States.
Intelligence suggests that cocaine is more likely to be smuggled from Colombia to Mexico and then to the US, rather than from Venezuela, where some of the ships that were attacked and destroyed in the Caribbean come from.
Meanwhile, lawmakers are demanding answers about how much the campaign is costing taxpayers. While officials did not disclose the total amount, they acknowledged that each attack costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.
As an example, a single Hellfire missile costs around $150, an hour of flight for an MQ-9 Reaper drone costs around $3500, and an hour of flight for an F-35 fighter jet costs up to $40.
The cost of an hour of flight for the AC-130J aircraft is not public, but its predecessor, which was retired in 2019, cost more than $40 per hour of flight.
Uncertainty about objectives and future moves
Target selection is being carried out by a joint unit of US Southern Command and Special Operations Command, with intelligence support. However, it is an open question whether all those killed were actually linked to one of the dozens of drug cartels that the US has designated as terrorist organisations.
In several congressional hearings, administration officials have acknowledged that they don't necessarily know the identity of every person aboard a ship before it's attacked. The decisions, as CNN reported, are made based on intelligence linking the ships to a specific cartel or criminal organization.
The situation has been further complicated by the arrival of new military forces in the Caribbean.
Officials say the Ford Carrier Strike Group is there to support counternarcotics operations, but its presence has fueled speculation that US President Donald Trump could soon launch strikes against Venezuela.
A source familiar with the closed-door Congressional hearing that was held revealed that two senior US special operations officers last month could not explain why the administration needed so many powerful military assets stationed in the Caribbean, just to destroy a small ship.