About the Venezuelan boats [View all]

[PJMcK]

For reference, I have been ocean sailing for most of my life. I've sailed the Atlantic and Caribbean as crew and have logged over 10,000 miles navigating my own boats. Over the years, I've learned quite a bit about small crafts in the ocean and sailing in general. The oceans are vast, lonely and dangerous. The blue water is no place for the inexperienced.

The boats targeted by Trump's lackeys are not ocean-going vessels. They are open boats meaning they do not have cabins nor storage holds. They are not designed for the wind and wave conditions found in the open ocean. Even with superior seamanship, these voyages would be foolish and dangerous. The boats are powered by outboard motors that lack the capacity to traverse those distances in the open ocean. They are designed for coastal fishing meaning they don't go too far offshore, perhaps only 20 miles or so.

Consider that the distance between Caracas, Venezuela and Miami is about 1,400 miles. These boats, would require fuel tanks that take up too much space on such small boats. Where would the cargo be stored? In an open boat, the drugs would be exposed to the elements as well as being vulnerable to being tossed overboard by the ocean conditions. Refueling enroute would expose the so-called smugglers to too much scrutiny as they traverse different countries on the way to the U.S. Further, if the boat could travel at 20 mph, it would take 70 hours or 3 days nonstop. That is unrealistic and requires a rotating crew, superior boat-handling, navigation and seamanship, skills that most coastal fishermen would probably not have learned.

If these boats are truly operated by drug-runners, the "narco-terrorists" are really stupid and the risks to their cargo and lives far exceed the possible profits from the small quantities these boats could carry. Additionally, why would the September 2nd boat have had 11 people on board? That doesn't make any sense because that many people take up space and consumables like food and water.and we know that drug kingpins want to maximize their profit potential.

In fact, many drug runners build "submarines" that travel just below the surface of the water making them difficult to detect. These vessels have far more cargo space than an open fishing boat. Importantly, they are designed for the distances and conditions required for such voyages. Here are two videos that explain these vessels:

Trump and Co. are on a murderous, illegal, unethical and performative fool's errand in order to look tough while accomplishing nothing. Watching boats being blown up and people being killed gives them visceral thrills all while they sit in their air-conditioned offices thousands of miles away from the sites of their crimes. The military personnel who enable these acts are in untenable situations. Trump is abusing our military, its people and our national values.

As usual, Trump and Republicans are presuming Americans are stupid who cannot evaluate these situations intelligently and logically. Like the fool Tom Cotton, they assume we are so dumb we won't believe our own eyes.