Colombian narco-traffickers seem to be increasingly making semi-submersibles outside of the country in an attempt to evade Colombian authorities, Navy Commander Admiral Alvaro Echandia has said.
“What they do is they try to evade the (Colombian) authorities, but we have very good agreements with Peru, Ecuador, Chile,” Echandia said, speaking at the XXVIII International Conference on Drug Control in Cancun, Mexico.
Echandia referred to the seizure of a narco-submarine in Ecuador in July 2010.
The navy commander added that Colombia seized 20 semi-submersibles in 2009, three in 2010 and have seized four vessels of this type so far in 2011, reported Univision on Tuesday.
This information comes as U.S. authorities reported a growth in the usage of semi-submersibles to transport drugs from South America.
“We’ve seen an increase in the use of semi-submersibles, these ships that float on water. They can move easily from the northern part of South America to Mexico or Guatemala,” U.S. commander General Douglas Fraser said on Monday.