Europe's New War on Drugs: Snipers Target Smugglers

European nations are considering more aggressive tactics, including sniper fire, to combat a significant increase in cocaine smuggling. A "call to action memo" from the Maritime Analysis and Operations Center (MAOC) proposes allowing engine-disabling tactics and shooting at drug-smuggling vessels.

This proposed escalation reflects alarm over record cocaine amounts reaching Europe's shores. Seizures have risen more than sevenfold since 2014, with annual street sales approaching $14 billion. Smugglers are increasingly using "go-fast" boats and open-sea flotillas to off-load shipments before they reach European waters.

These measures stop short of the missile strikes employed by the Trump administration in the Caribbean, which have raised legal concerns. The French navy recently conducted its first operation of this kind, disabling a drug-smuggling vessel with sniper fire off the coast of Africa.

Despite opposition in some capitals, the move toward militarized approaches is driven by traffickers' ability to maneuver past European defenses. The MAOC memo calls for a broader mobilization of military and counternarcotics assets along the cocaine-smuggling corridor stretching from West Africa past Spain's Canary Islands.