A fierce and bloody war is being waged, by the United States authorities against the Colombian and Mexican drug cartels, and in Mexico thousands of people have been killed. This war is in part about innovation.

The drug lords first smuggled drugs into the U.S. using personal messengers, who often swallowed drugs in plastic bags and then, after reaching their destination, retrieved them from their waste. The quantities, however, proved too small. The drug lords then smuggled drugs in ships, sometimes in tin cans labeled “pineapple” or “corn”. That too was eventually discovered and stopped. Then they bought aircraft. Sophisticated radar tracked them, and some were shot down. Next they bought high-speed speedboats, faster than any Coast Guard vessel. But these too were eventually interdicted. 

The final stage in this innovation war was …submarines. The drug lords ordered and bought submersible vessels, some 20 ft. long. These were not true submarines, but submersible vessels with snorkels (air pipes) that travelled just below the surface. Each such vessel can carry up to 10 tons of cocaine! When authorities in Colombia stopped them, the crew simply scuttled the submarines, which sank, with all the evidence with them. So, a new law has been enacted which makes it illegal to be on, or in possession of, such vessels, with a 12-year jail sentence resulting, even if the vessels are scuttled. 

Despite huge expenditures, large manpower and desperate efforts, America is losing the drug war. Many many billions of dollars worth of cocaine and other drugs flood into America annually. It is said, only half in jest, that the money in Miami is covered with a thin film of white powder. These resources make it possible for drug lords to find new and innovative ways to transport their death-dealing cargoes, no matter how costly. The only solution is for those battling the drug lords to be even more creative and innovative, to anticipate their next moves, and to interdict them aggressively and cleverly.