When the U.S. military sank a boat allegedly carrying illegal narcotics from Venezuela to the United States earlier this month, the incident created not just controversy but also a precedent.

To some proponents, using the military is a justified means of mitigating a drug epidemic that killed 80,000 Americans last year. And if military force is to be used, sinking drug vessels is a particularly enticing option: Better to drop bombs in the Caribbean than to send troops on drug raids into Mexico, the theory goes.

Yet sinking ships on the high seas also carries risks, some U.S. experts argue.

“Attacking cartel assets at sea avoids the sovereignty issues that arise with attacks on land,” warn researchers Mark Cancian and Chris Park in an analysis for the Center for International and S

See Full Page