PUNTA CANOA, Colombia – Despite aggressive drug trafficking enforcement by the U.S. military, cocaine continues to flood across borders in record amounts. The campaign has claimed 126 lives in five months. Yet cocaine seizures at the Mexican border have actually increased by 34%.

As dawn breaks over Colombia’s Caribbean coast, fisherman Euris Cervantes fires up his outboard motor. The Big Dipper still glimmers overhead. Meanwhile, he navigates through mangrove swamps towards open water. Hundreds of herons take flight in the half-light. However, Cervantes feels no peace. His mind dwells on one fear. U.S. drug trafficking enforcement forces might mistake his vessel for a smuggler’s boat. Consequently, they could blow it out of the water without warning.

This anxiety is not unfounded. Over the past five months, drug trafficking enforcement operations by the United States military have resulted in at least three dozen lethal attacks on suspected smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific. Furthermore, the latest strike on Friday claimed two more lives, bringing the death toll from these narcotics interdiction operations to 126, according to U.S. officials.

The White House and Pentagon call these operations national self-defence against ‘narco-terrorism’. Nevertheless, they’ve fundamentally altered the lives of legitimate fishermen like Cervantes. He once ventured 40 miles offshore, where the fishing is much better. Now he restricts himself to coastal waters, trading his livelihood for his safety due to intensified narcotics interdiction.

“You always think about the attacks,” Cervantes says. His voice betrays the constant tension under which he now works every day.

Drug Trafficking Enforcement Strategy Falls Short

The Numbers Reveal Ineffective Narcotics Interdiction

President Trump has claimed that these bombing campaigns have stopped 97 per cent of all illegal drugs entering the United States by water. However, the data tells a starkly different story about the effectiveness of current drug trafficking enforcement strategies.

Adam Isacson is a defence and security expert who works at the Washington Office on Latin America. He points to a critical flaw in the administration’s logic. Most drug vessels don’t sail directly to U.S. shores. Instead, they offload their cargo in Central America or Mexico. Subsequently, the drugs then travel overland across the border.

The statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection are revealing. During the final quarter of 2025, the bombing campaign reached full intensity. Despite this, authorities seized 10,593 pounds of cocaine at the U.S.-Mexican border. This represents a 34% increase compared to the same period in 2024, when there were no lethal strikes.

“We didn’t see less cocaine,” Isacson says bluntly. “In fact, we saw more.”

Global Drug Trafficking Flows Continue Unabated

The trend extends beyond American borders. Moreover, European authorities have confiscated massive quantities of cocaine in recent months. For instance, Portuguese police made a record nine-tonne seizure from a semi-submersible vessel used for illegal drug smuggling.

InsightCrime monitors organised crime in Latin America. The organisation concluded that these European seizures show something troubling. After more than three months of lethal U.S. attacks on alleged drug boats, global drug flows haven’t halted. At most, they’re simply shifting routes.

International Allies Withdraw Support For Narcotics Operations

The lethal boat strikes have created diplomatic rifts. As a result, key American allies are stepping back. Human Rights Watch describes them as unlawful executions. Similarly, many legal experts agree.

Phil Gunson is based in Venezuela for the International Crisis Group. He reports troubling news. The United Kingdom, Netherlands, and France have all stopped sharing intelligence concerning Caribbean drug smuggling with the United States.

“The allies don’t want their intelligence used for what they regard as illegal operations,” Gunson explains. “In other words, killing people on the high seas during drug trafficking enforcement.”

Colombia’s Alternative Approach

Colombia produces most of the world’s cocaine. Nevertheless, it takes a fundamentally different approach to drug trafficking enforcement. Rather than destroying vessels, the Colombian military captures them and brings suspects to face legal charges. Additionally, they gather valuable intelligence for broader investigations.

The naval base in Cartagena tells the story. Impounded narco-submarines and go-fast boats fill the compound. Some vessels can transport up to five tonnes of cocaine. The Colombian navy occasionally fires warning shots to stop boats during narcotics operations. However, they almost never use lethal force.

A navy captain involved in counter-narcotics operations spoke anonymously for safety reasons. The U.S. bombing campaign hasn’t affected smuggling activity, he notes. ‘Last week, we seized a go-fast boat with 4.5 tonnes of cocaine here in Colombia,’ he says. ‘They are still going out.’

Why Cartels See Drug Trafficking Losses As Business Costs

Ben Stechschulte is a Tampa-based attorney who’s defended suspected drug smugglers in U.S. federal court. He offers insight into why these measures fail to create meaningful deterrence.

When cartels lose vessels, they simply absorb the loss. Furthermore, they adjust their routes and dispatch more boats.

“I don’t think it has any deterrent effect,” he says about the bombing campaign. “The drug cartels understand it’s the cost of doing business.”

The profit margins in cocaine trafficking are enormous. Therefore, losing a few shipments barely registers as a financial setback. Criminal organisations move tonnes of illegal drugs worth millions on the street. Consequently, the loss of a boat and its cargo is just another operational expense.

Fishing Communities Pay The Price

While policymakers debate effectiveness, fishing communities along Colombia’s coast bear the consequences. Back aboard his boat, Cervantes and his three crew members haul in their nets. The catch is modest, bringing up a few sea bass and 14 lobsters.

It’s a meagre return for a day’s labour. Nonetheless, Cervantes counts himself fortunate to be fishing at all. Fermin Pérez is vice president of the local fishers’ association. He reports that some community members have been traumatised after watching videos of the boat bombings conducted during drug trafficking enforcement. As a result, they refuse to venture onto the ocean.

“Many no longer go out,” Pérez says. “But we need to fish because that’s how we live. That’s how we eat.”

Legal Challenges Mount Against Narcotics Enforcement Operations

The families of those killed are now seeking justice. Civil rights attorneys filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. government on behalf of two fishermen’s families from Trinidad who died in an October 14 strike during drug trafficking enforcement operations.

Separately, the family of Colombian national Alejandro Carranza has filed a human rights complaint. He was killed in another operation. The complaint went to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

What The Evidence Shows

As the bombing campaign continues, evidence mounts that this approach is failing on multiple fronts. Drug seizures have increased rather than decreased. Moreover, international allies have withdrawn their support and stopped intelligence sharing. Meanwhile, innocent fishermen live in fear while legal challenges are mounting.

The Colombian model offers a different path. It prioritises capture over killing and maintains international legitimacy. At the same time, it still disrupts trafficking networks through effective narcotics operations and allows for prosecution and intelligence gathering. Furthermore, it doesn’t alienate allied nations or traumatise coastal communities.

In Punta Canoa, Cervantes returns to shore as the sun climbs higher. Tomorrow, he’ll venture out again, though the waters feel less safe with each passing day. The war on drugs continues through aggressive narcotics interdiction. However, for communities like his, one question lingers: Are current tactics causing more harm and creating more problems than they solve?

The data suggests a stark reality. You cannot bomb your way to victory against drug cartels. The traffickers adapt while the illegal drugs keep flowing. Meanwhile, innocent people pay the price. It’s a drug trafficking enforcement strategy that has consistently failed to achieve its stated objectives. The numbers prove it: 126 dead, 34% more cocaine seized, and allies turning away.

Source: npr