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I mean really study it. Consider scale, topography, types of vegetation. Consider how many of our ships are in the region and how fast they are. Consider how much time it would take to get even a helicopter into an area where one of these boats was spotted.

And on some levels, yes, it is a macabre video game, the boats spotted by a drone, the optics good enough to see the lack of fishing gear and the presence of plastic wrapped packages, and the strike ordered. It's all done remotely, everybody keeps their hands clean.

Hell, we can't counter the reverse of this operation on our own shores, although the pickup boats are more likely to be yachts or fishing boats, real ones. They get busted once in a blue moon but they have to be pretty obvious .

Personally, I dislike seeing high priced Hellfire missiles used in this manner but since they are, I would hope a chopper is dispatched soon after the strike to pick up the wreckage and examine it. Likely few traces of water soluble drugs would be found, but our tests are extremely sensitive and traces driven into wood and plastic by the force of the blast could be picked up.

Venezuela seems disinclined to look for survivors after one of these strikes. I don't know if they lack resources, if Maduro is afraid or the idea just hasn't occurred to him, or if the government is just thinking good riddance. Their lack of concern should tell us a lot.