Deadly US boat strikes have failed to curb cocaine supply, Pentagon and DEA officials say

A new, previously unreported assessment says the Trump administration’s deadly military strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats have not reduced the amount of cocaine entering the United States, though they appear to be reshaping smuggling tactics. The DEA told lawmakers, and analysts reviewed by The Washington Post, found the strikes did not meaningfully affect cocaine supply or price. Instead, traffickers diversified away from go-fast boats and began avoiding international waters, using larger vessels and staying closer to coastlines where U.S. forces are less likely to open fire. Pentagon officials also briefed lawmakers that purity of cocaine remained unchanged. The DEA report adds that traffickers increasingly rely on aircraft departing clandestine airstrips near the Colombian-Venezuelan border.