US Strike On ‘Narco Sub’ Exposes Expanding Cartel Threat

As part of President Donal Trump’s escalating campaign against communist Venezuela-based narco terrorists, the U.S. military just sank another narco vessel transiting the Caribbean Sea near that South American country. This latest attack, at least the sixth so far, resulted in the first detention of some survivors.

But this wasn’t another small, open narco fast boat racing across the ocean, the Pentagon says they sank a narco “submarine” that was “loaded up” with drugs. Trump later confirmed the attack, telling reporters that the targeted vessel was a narco-submarine.

“We attacked a submarine, and that was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs.”

While some reporters, including three illustrious scribblers at The Washington Post, diminished the significance of these submersibles, saying they are “rarely used,” anyone remotely knowledgeable about the issue knows narco subs have become a global threat, that is only growing.

Maybe the Post reporters should read The Wall Street Journal which published a revealing article in May: “The Potent Powder and ‘Narco-Subs’ Driving Cocaine’s Global Surge.”

Narco subs, once limited to short, coastal trips, are now capable of crossing the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to reach Europe and Australia.

And the increasing seizure of these subs is well reported.

The enhanced sophistication, global reach, and use of cutting-edge technology that make the latest narco subs increasingly difficult to detect. Some cartel trafficking operations are moving beyond basic semi-submersibles to deploying autonomous drones and fully submersible vessels to evade authorities.

While most narco subs are seized in the Pacific, about 14% are found in the Atlantic and Caribbean.

An excellent special report from InSight Crime, a sophisticated regional crime outlet based in Colombia, noted recently how their use has gone global:

A near-record number of narco submarines were intercepted crossing the Atlantic and Pacific in 2024, with drug-laden vessels appearing in new areas as traffickers increasingly use this discreet shipping method to get cocaine to international markets.

Narco subs have been around for decades, primarily used to ferry cocaine from Colombia’s Pacific coast to Central America or Mexico. But recent seizure data for these hard-to-detect boats suggest that narco subs are growing in number, reach, and sophistication.

While we don’t yet know what type of vessel this recently sunk narco sub was, they have been growing in sophistication and capability over the last several years.

Most narco subs intercepted on our oceans and beaches are not true submarines and cannot fully dive beneath the ocean’s surface. Instead, they are generally categorized as a Low-Profile Vessel (LPV), lying extremely low in the water, with only a small portion visible above the surface. Many are powered by an inboard engine.

A lot of them are small and low cost, employed in large numbers to overwhelm maritime authorities and allow at least some shipment to make it to their destination.

Others are slender subs that more closely resemble a very narrow go-fast boat with powerful outboard engines, that sit extremely low in the water, much of it slightly submerged. Their hydrodynamic design leaves little wake making them difficult to detect from the air.

LPVs can reportedly cost as little as $150,000 to build, though some can cost as much as $1 million to $2 million. Most typically require three or four pilots.

Then there are small submersible towed narco torpedoes, pulled by a larger ship, that can be detached if intercepted, and carry GPS tracker to locate later.

But fully submersible vessels (FSV) for drug smuggling also exist. While none have been captured at sea, authorities have seized some land in various stages of construction.

One FSV was actually seized in Venezuela in 2022, delivering a drug shipment along the Arauca River, likely transporting cocaine from Colombia to Venezuela. They called it the ‘Arauca Monster.’

Colombian authorities try to intercept these vessels in rivers before they reach open water, where detection becomes much harder, but only one in four narco sub seizures occurs on land or in rivers or estuaries.

And these narco subs just keep getting better and better.

In July 2025, the Colombian Navy intercepted the first remotely guided, unmanned narco-submarine. It was equipped with a Starlink satellite internet antenna, allowing an operator to pilot the vessel from anywhere in the world.

So it is clear that Trump’s counter narcotics efforts in the Caribbean are hitting the most covert of cartel smuggling assets.

Despite this overwhelming evidence, the intrepid journalists at the Washington Post, Tara Copp, a national reporter focused on the military and national security, Alex Horton, a former Army soldier and national security reporter focused on the U.S. military, and Noah Robertson, who previously covered the Pentagon, made the ridiculous statement that:

Such “narco subs,” as they are sometimes called, have operated in the region for years but are rarely used, suggesting drug traffickers may be shifting to more covert means in an attempt to elude increasing U.S. surveillance efforts.

Note to The Washington Post: DO BETTER.

READ NEXT: ICE Brings In The Big Guns To Catch Domestic Extremists