Cartels Increasingly Using Cargo Vessels To Smuggle Drugs As Trump Admin's Strikes Against Vessels Ramp Up

Drug cartels are increasingly changing the ways in which they send narcotics to the U.S. as the Trump administration continues its deployment to the Caribbean and its strikes against vessels allegedly carrying illegal substances.

A new report published by The New York Times detailed that criminal organizations are not stopping their activities due to the strikes and are resorting to alternative methods. Some, the outlet said, are taking drugs from Colombia to more islands before getting them on fast boats or container ships.

Others are using more cargo vessels in the region to hide the drugs, making it harder to conduct seizures because they are hidden among legal goods. A senior official from Trinidad and Tobago said the developments have led to more unlawful flights from South America dropping bales of drugs that are then picked up by larger vessels.

All strikes from the U.S. have taken place just off the coast of Venezuela, as the attacks are also meant to put pressure on the Maduro regime as it continues encroaching to power.

"We are seeing changes in modus operandi," said a Jamaican official. "More covert means are being used to transship drugs," he told the outlet.

As enforcement also increases at the U.S.-Mexico border, some organizations are now sending the drugs to Europe, Australia, and other high-price markets, the outlet noted.

Despite the increased enforcement operations, global cocaine production and demand remain at record highs. The U.S. Coast Guard seized nearly 175,000 kilos of cocaine on the high seas in the last fiscal year, including 64 tons in the Caribbean.

Moreover, experts interviewed by the outlet say the strikes are unlikely to significantly disrupt supply.

But the Trump administration seems intent on pushing forward. Trump announced on Tuesday that the U.S. has struck a fifth vessel off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people.

Despite the escalation, Venezuelan insiders have claimed that Venezuela's authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro won't relinquish power voluntarily despite increased pressure.

Speaking to Spanish outlet El Pais, one people with knowledge of the regime's thinking said "Maduro is not going anywhere." "Maduro has practically no other fate than resisting whatever comes and waiting for Trump to hesitate," the person added.