Dominican Republic Seizes Cocaine from Speedboat Destroyed by U.S. Navy

The Dominican Republic's National Directorate for Drug Control (DNCD) announced the seizure of 377 packages of cocaine from a speedboat destroyed by the U.S. Navy. The vessel, allegedly carrying approximately 1,000 kilograms of cocaine, was intercepted about 80 nautical miles south of Isla Beata, a Dominican island.

The DNCD stated that the Dominican Navy collaborated with U.S. authorities to locate the speedboat, which was reportedly attempting to dock in the Dominican Republic to use the nation as a transit point for transporting cocaine to the United States.

"This is the first time in history that the United States and the Dominican Republic carry out a joint operation against narco terrorism in the Caribbean," the DNCD said in a statement.

In August, the U.S. deployed eight warships and a submarine to the southern Caribbean as part of a mission to combat drug trafficking. The White House reported that the flotilla has destroyed three speedboats carrying drugs in separate strikes, resulting in more than a dozen fatalities among those aboard the vessels.

Human rights groups have criticized these strikes, alleging they constitute extrajudicial killings. In response, two Democratic senators introduced a resolution in Congress seeking to halt further such operations.

The Trump administration claims that at least two of the sunken boats originated from Venezuela. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro denies these allegations and has described the U.S. naval presence in the Caribbean as an attack on his country.