Video: How the U.S. Coast Guard Fights Drug Smuggling at Sea

"New York Times reporters spent two days with the Coast Guard's drug interdiction teams to see how they stop suspected drug smuggling boats and seize narcotics using nonlethal tactics. We're outside of Jacksonville, Fla., flying with the Coast Guard's Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, or HITRON, as they chase down a speedboat simulating drug-runners at sea. These are the counterdrug cops of the high seas. They intercept suspicious boats, seize illegal narcotics and arrest suspected drug smugglers to try to bring them to justice."

"The gunner aims for the engines. We don't intentionally shoot to hurt, kill, injure anybody. Our primary target is going to be the engine. Today, they're practicing on a common smugglers' tactic, using their bodies to shield the motors from gunfire. They do this because they know the Coast Guard will do what they can to avoid casualties. And you're taking extra caution not to hit any people on board these suspected drug boats."

"The Pentagon has been striking the same type of speedboats the Coast Guard is targeting, declaring drug smugglers unlawful combatants in order to justify the operation. But legal experts have called the attacks a violation of U.S. and international law. We spent two days with HITRON and a tactical unit in Miami to see how they've been stopping and seizing drug boats by relying on nonlethal tactics long before the military got involved."

Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) teams fly from Jacksonville and Miami to chase and intercept suspected drug-smuggling speedboats. The teams focus on disabling engines with targeted, nonlethal fire to avoid harming people who often shield motors during interdictions. The Coast Guard emphasizes life-saving priorities and takes extra caution to prevent casualties. The Pentagon has conducted lethal strikes on similar boats, labeling smugglers unlawful combatants, which legal experts say may violate U.S. and international law. The Coast Guard has long used nonlethal interdiction tactics in the Eastern Pacific, where over 70 percent of cocaine bound for the U.S. transits.

Read at www.nytimes.com