Colombian Pirates
- Thread starter walmart
- Start date
The thing is...this was otl just with smuggling than robbing before drugs become too much profitable anyway, you snuggle cheap merchandise from Panama (some might be stolen) to Colombia and ecuador
The US would invade.....no if and or butts about it. When the US controlled the canal they wouldn’t put up with it. After they gave it up they simply couldn’t afford the loss to shipping as huge chunks of those ships are hauling things destined for US ports.
So either way. The US will end the threat in very short order.
So either way. The US will end the threat in very short order.
Looking at the terrain, Colombia has the potential to make Vietnam look like a paint-ball course. There will be nothing accomplished "in short order"
Grey Wolf
Donor
Well, it's pirates. Presumably they operate from the coast and hinterland, not deep in the mountains. The US could go all Pompey on them
Vietnam wouldn't be comparable in this case. The biggest obstacle to victory in Vietnam was the impunity of North Vietnam to train and supply the Viet Cong, with help from China and the Soviet Union. South America, meanwhile, is the USA's backyard. Furthermore, pirates would be hated just as much by the South American governments as anyone else. The US would have no trouble enlisting the various South American governments, along with the British, French, and Dutch, to assist in putting them down.
Finally, international law is not friendly to piracy, even today. On the high seas there are very few protections for pirates, so if the US Navy decided to blow them out of the water, there would be little stopping them.
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mial42
Gone Fishin'
A USN squadron showing up in the area to blow up pirates. The Panama Canal is the site of a major US military base; not the ideal place for piracy.
It all depends on when the pirates are operating. Early in the 20-40s the US was MUCH more ruthless and will do things as needed and the average American will never know. Add in that unless the pirates are backed by the locals (highly doubtful) then it does not compare to Vietnam.
Add in that the US just needs to sit on the big cities and wipe out the pirate bases and ships and problem is over. Not like you can hide a pirate ship in an underground tunnel.
And let’s be brutally honest it was the USs own stupidity that resulted in Vietnam being what it was. We had bad politics setting bad policy in support of an unpopular government and we frankly did it half assed. And generally speaking the US still pretty much won every battle. They just couldn’t win the peace.
In this example the pirates are not going to have popular support. And the US won’t be alone. So yes it will be a fast invasion by the US and depending on how things go the US may pull out shortly after or not. TheUS is not unknown to invade break a lot of stuff then go home.
Add in that the US just needs to sit on the big cities and wipe out the pirate bases and ships and problem is over. Not like you can hide a pirate ship in an underground tunnel.
And let’s be brutally honest it was the USs own stupidity that resulted in Vietnam being what it was. We had bad politics setting bad policy in support of an unpopular government and we frankly did it half assed. And generally speaking the US still pretty much won every battle. They just couldn’t win the peace.
In this example the pirates are not going to have popular support. And the US won’t be alone. So yes it will be a fast invasion by the US and depending on how things go the US may pull out shortly after or not. TheUS is not unknown to invade break a lot of stuff then go home.
Plausibility check: WI pirates are operating using fanboats, out of Magdalena river delta and costal swamps, not very seaworthy but can outrun almost any other watergoing vessels, in order to board them and hold crew/cargo for ransom. Working in conjunction with FARC. Stopping them requires constant aerial patrols to inderdict and/or shipping to divert further north.
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Assuming it is legal to take NFA firearms onto the high seas (for potential use as defensive weapons) and then return them to the US, perhaps there is more interest in owning NFA firearms by at least some wealthy American yacht owners
The perceived need (in the opinion of some people) for civilians to have access to military style weapons to defend themselves from pirates might also enter the gun control debate narrative in some nations.The price of suitable transferable NFA firearms might rise in the US ?
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I suppose it distracts relevant agencies like government naval forces and the US Coast Guard from the more profitable shipments of drugs plus ransoms are profit in of themselves.
Downside is that it makes international news, and results in a major USCG operation (after they get a bigger budget and get more helicopters and cutters) that will likely also mess with drug shipments.