I dont undeerstand? Border patrol shoots at Mexican drug smugglers and they get arrested. Coast Guard shoots at Cuban non drug smugglers and they probably get a medal. I think we are moving backwards.

I completely understand the anger people will have over this incident. I don't want my comments to be construed as supporting the potential injury or death of anyone in a situation like this.



However, I work with the folks who plan and implement many of the drug interdictions carried out by the USCG on the open seas of the Caribbean, the South American Atlantic region and the eastern Pacific area along Ventral and South America.



You can believe men when I tell you that the disabling shots fired at that boat occurred under a very strict set of engagement rules. First, the USCG has to exhaust every other method to stop the craft for a right-of-visit. The master of the vessel is given every opportunity to comply. The vessel is then warned, in multiple languages, that failure to stop will result in warning shots. These are "across-the-bow" shots that are never intended to strike the vessel or it's passengers/crew. They are simply a method of frightening the master into stopping.



If warning fire fails, the ship is then warned that the next shots will be to disable the engines. Again, this is a very strict protocol that includes holding fire if any crew or passengers are too close to the engines. The shots are then precisely aimed at the engines in an effort to disable them.



The problem is clearly that the boat was running and there is no way the CG can tell if its a refugee vessel or one bringing in drugs or weapons. The CG and other law enforcement and military organizations do everything possible to determine what a vessel is doing...and running is always a bad idea. The men and women on those CG ships don't know what's on the vessel they're chasing, so they have no choice but to assume it's something bad.



Now, I wish the incident that occurred didn't have to happen, and I'm sure that CG marksman didn't feel to good about the vessel's payload after the incident was over.



But the smuggling of refugees (as you point out) is an illegal and lucrative business. The act of trying to get to the US is a political issue that isn't going to be settled easily or quickly, at least not until fidel is finally taking the eternal dirt nap. I pray daily for that day when anyone who wishes to come here from Cuba can do so...or better yet, when Cubans can once again freely visit or return to their homeland, and I can go there as an American and see the beauty of the country and the people on the native soil.



I don't like the idea of my country's forces firing on boats with refugees. But there are two sides to every story.



Thanks for letting me vent a bit.

Joe,

Don’t be naïve trying to cover the sun with a finger… A boat full of people crying and screaming, a call from the Cuban military to the CG and then.. YOU ARE GOING TO TELL ME THAT THEY DIDN’T’ KNOW!. Give me a fuking break men. Maybe their superior didn’t want them to know. But they have eyes and ears for God sake.