The Colombian Navy announced the capture of an unmanned submarine in the waters of the Caribbean Sea, near the city of Santa Marta. The homemade vessel was equipped with a Starlink satellite antenna, the high-speed internet service developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company, and had the capacity to transport up to 1.5 tons of cocaine.
Although no narcotics were found inside, authorities believe the vehicle was being tested before being used by the Gulf Clan, the country’s largest drug trafficking organization.
The Navy presented the discovery as a clear sign that criminal networks are migrating toward increasingly sophisticated and difficult-to-detect unmanned systems.
Technology at the Service of Drug Trafficking
The appearance of a Starlink antenna on the captured narco-submarine is no small feat. This technology enables high-speed satellite communications in remote areas, facilitating control and monitoring of the vehicle without the need for a crew on board.
The Gulf Clan, with ties to the Mexican Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación cartels, is believed to be at the forefront of these innovations. The growing use of technology is clear evidence of the globalization of criminal societies. And they are not alone: armed groups such as FARC dissidents have also adopted the use of explosive drones and social media to recruit minors, for example.
Narco-submarines 2.0
The use of semi-submersibles by drug traffickers in Colombia is not new. For at least two decades, these vehicles have been used to transport drugs to the United States and Europe. These vessels, mostly manufactured in Colombia, are rustic, lightweight, and sail almost at water level, making them difficult to detect.
In recent years, criminal groups have begun hiring engineers and technology experts to build unmanned submarines. By incorporating these technologies, drug traffickers avoid costs and achieve safer drug transport.
Source: tn
