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What are the most common routes used by boats involved in drug trafficking to the US?
Executive summary
Maritime drug trafficking to the United States commonly uses two broad corridors: the Caribbean Sea (from northern South America including Venezuela and Colombia toward the Caribbean and U.S. Southeast) and the Eastern Pacific (coastwise from Colombia westward toward Central America and Mexico), with U.S. officials in 2025 emphasizing the eastern Pacific as a major transit route to Mexico and then the U.S. [1] [2]. Reporting and government estimates also note that Venezuela has become a preferred maritime transit route for Colombian cocaine, with U.S. estimates in the low hundreds of metric tons transiting Venezuela annually in past years [2] [3].
1. Two dominant maritime arteries: Caribbean and Eastern Pacific
Journalists and U.S. officials point to two principal sea routes: the Caribbean route—vessels moving north from Venezuela and Colombia toward Caribbean islands and U.S. coastal approaches—and the eastern Pacific corridor, where cocaine is moved from Colombia toward Central America and Mexico on its way overland to the United States [1] [2]. The Pentagon shifted strikes toward the eastern Pacific in late 2025 because, officials say, intelligence linked more cocaine flows along western routes that feed into Mexico rather than directly into the Caribbean [1].
2. Why the eastern Pacific matters: handoff to Mexico
U.S. analysts quoted by CNN and other outlets say cocaine trafficked via the eastern Pacific is frequently destined for Mexico, where criminal groups consolidate loads for overland smuggling into the U.S., making the Pacific corridor strategically important to U.S. interdiction efforts [1]. Forbes and Pentagon statements reiterated that some struck vessels were “traveling along a known narco‑trafficking transit route in the Eastern Pacific,” reflecting U.S. assessments of that corridor’s significance [4] [1].
3. Venezuela as a maritime transshipment hub
Multiple reports and government documents have described Venezuela as a “preferred drug trafficking route” for Colombian cocaine, with U.S. estimates in previous years suggesting roughly 200–250 metric tons of cocaine transited Venezuela annually—figures cited in State Department and NGO reporting referenced by analysts [2] [3]. That assessment underpinned much attention on Caribbean departures from Venezuela’s northeastern coast in 2025 [5] [3].
4. Variety of vessels and tactics on these routes
Coverage notes traffickers use everything from go‑fast boats to semi‑submersibles and small fishing craft to move drugs across these corridors; the U.S. has publicly destroyed fast boats and at least one semi‑submersible in its 2025 strikes, underscoring the diverse maritime techniques traffickers employ [6] [7]. FactCheck.org and other outlets note that maritime trafficking historically yielded large interdiction detections—hundreds of suspected vessels per year in earlier Southern Command reporting—implying persistent, widespread maritime activity [3].
5. Intelligence, evidence and competing assessments
U.S. authorities have said strikes targeted vessels on “known narco‑trafficking routes,” but critics and some partner governments have demanded clearer evidence linking specific boats to trafficking and to designated terrorist groups [8] [7]. Reuters, PBS and other outlets reported that allies like the U.K. and Colombia paused intelligence sharing or criticized the legal basis for lethal strikes, highlighting disagreement over evidence and methods [9] [8].
6. What the data do — and don’t — show about actual flows
Government reports and NGOs note significant cocaine flows through Venezuelan maritime routes in past years and estimate hundreds of tons could transit maritime channels, yet news investigations have also found many struck crews were low‑level operators or local laborers rather than high‑ranking cartel figures, indicating complexity in who operates these boats [3] [10]. FactCheck.org points out that while cocaine moves by sea from Colombia and Venezuela to markets including the U.S., fentanyl flows are largely overland from Mexico, underscoring different supply‑chain geographies [2].
7. Policy implications and contested remedies
Proponents of hardline military action argue targeting vessels on these routes disrupts revenue streams and supply chains; opponents counter that lethal strikes risk civilian lives, may lack legal grounding, and could undermine cooperation with partners who prefer interdiction and prosecution via the Coast Guard and DEA [11] [9]. Human-rights groups and some governments called the 2025 strikes extrajudicial and have questioned whether naval bombardment of small boats is an effective or lawful way to stop trafficking [9] [6].
8. Bottom line for readers seeking clarity
Available reporting consistently identifies the Caribbean and eastern Pacific corridors as the most common maritime routes toward the U.S., with Venezuela and Colombia frequently cited as origin/transit points; however, sources disagree about the best tactics to confront that flow and question whether specific U.S. lethal strikes have been adequately justified by publicly presented evidence [1] [2] [9].