Dominican Republic says it seized 1,000kg of cocaine from boat US bombed

Dominican Republic forces person seized hundreds of cocaine packages from a speedboat that was targeted and destroyed by the United States Navy, officials said, amid escalating anti-drug operations successful the Caribbean.

In a station connected X connected Sunday, the Dominican Republic’s National Directorate for Drug Control (DNCD), the country’s cause enforcement agency, said it carried retired a associated Dominican-US cognition successful which they said they recovered 1,000kg (2,200lb) of cocaine successful 377 packages.

The connection said the vas carrying the contraband was destroyed astir 80 nautical miles (150km) southbound of Beata Island disconnected the confederate seashore of the Dominican Republic.

The DNCD released footage of the cognition successful which the drugs were captured, showing a vas astatine sea, with officers boarding the vessel and inspecting packaged goods of the alleged drugs.

“It is highlighted that this is the archetypal clip successful past that the Dominican Republic and the United States person carried retired a associated cognition against narco-terrorism successful the Caribbean Region,” the DNCD said successful a station connected X.

The betterment of the drugs comes amid a increasing propulsion by the US into the Caribbean to combat cause trafficking, Trump medication officials person said. The US began deploying warships to the confederate Caribbean successful aboriginal September, sending 8 ships, drones and an onslaught submarine.

The alleged US “war connected drugs” has been called “a large imperial hypocrisy” that allows the US to unit Latin American states, according to critics.

The US has carried retired strikes against what it has said are vessels sent by cause cartels arsenic portion of a broader endeavor to import amerciable drugs into the US.

The US carried retired its 3rd onslaught successful caller days against what it was said was a vessel “trafficking illicit narcotics”, sidesplitting astatine slightest 3 radical who were connected committee the vessel.

In a station connected his Truth Social level aft the strike, Trump said the latest “lethal kinetic strike” took spot connected his orders successful the US Southern Command’s “area of responsibility”, a portion that encompasses 31 countries successful South and Central America and the Caribbean.

“Intelligence confirmed the vas was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting on a known narcotrafficking transition en way to poison Americans,” Trump said.

The onslaught came arsenic the US deployed warships to planetary waters disconnected Venezuela’s coast, backed by F-35 fighters sent to Puerto Rico, successful what it calls an anti-drug operation.

It has previously carried retired 2 strikes against alleged drug-smuggling vessels that it claims originated successful Venezuela.

Rights groups person expressed interest astir the strikes. Sarah Yager, Washington manager astatine Human Rights Watch, said “US officials cannot summarily termination radical they impeach of smuggling drugs.”

Democratic senators, Tim Kaine, and Adam Schiff, introduced a solution past week seeking to artifact the usage of equipped unit against non-state actors without legislature approval.

“The Administration has refused to supply Congress with basal accusation astir the aggregate strikes it has carried out, including who was killed, wherefore it was indispensable to enactment servicemembers’ lives astatine risk, and wherefore a modular interdiction cognition wasn’t conducted,” said Kaine.

The militarisation of the confederate Caribbean has besides further rankled the US’s already frayed ties with Venezuela, which views the increasing US naval beingness arsenic threatening.

The US has said 2 of the boats which it struck near from Venezuela, with Trump often describing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arsenic a cause trafficker.

Last week, Venezuela’s Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said the US was progressive successful an “undeclared war”, adding that the victims person been “executed without the close to a defence”.

Venezuela said a tuna vessel was “illegally and hostilely boarded by a United States Navy destroyer” successful mid-September portion it was successful the country’s territorial waters with a licence to fish.

Caracas besides launched 3 days of naval exercises disconnected La Orchila island, northbound of the superior Caracas, implicit the weekend.

Maduro has said Trump is attempting to overthrow his government, which the Trump medication has said it isn’t considering.

Maduro has besides urged Venezuelan citizens to articulation militia grooming to “defend the homeland” and announced that troops would supply residents of low-income neighbourhoods with weapons training.

Venezuelan absorption fig Henrique Capriles, a two-time statesmanlike campaigner and staunch Maduro critic, said connected Friday helium would not enactment immoderate US invasion.