U.S. helped Mexico find drug-laden submarine
Published: Sat, Jul. 19, 2008 12:30AM
Modified Sat, Jul. 19, 2008 06:11AM
E-Mail
Print
tool name
closeMEXICO CITY -- U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Friday that U.S. intelligence helped Mexico capture a cocaine-laden smuggling submarine this week.
As the Mexican navy finished hauling the 33-foot vessel to shore, Chertoff disclosed that the U.S. government had shared information with Mexican authorities before Wednesday's operation.
"We shared information with the Mexican navy, but the Mexican navy acted alone in actually executing the seizures: their marines, their helicopters, their naval vessels," Chertoff told reporters here after meetings with Mexican officials on security issues.
More Crime & Safety
He did not specify what type of information U.S. officials had passed along before Mexican commandos seized the vessel and its four-member Colombian crew.
While the homemade vessels are being used increasingly by Colombian drug suppliers as a way to evade radar detection, it was the first time one was captured off the coast of Mexico.
Mexican military officials said after getting the seized vessel to shore Friday that it contained about 6 tons of cocaine.
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be published, broadcast or redistributed in any manner.
Get it all with convenient home delivery of The News & Observer.
The News & Observer is pleased to be able to offer its users the opportunity to make comments and hold conversations online. However, the interactive nature of the internet makes it impracticable for our staff to monitor each and every posting.
Since The News & Observer does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted on our website. In addition, we remind anyone interested in making an online comment that responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not The News and Observer.
If you find a comment offensive, clicking on the exclamation icon will flag the comment for review by the administrators, we are counting on the good judgment of all our readers to help us.
