NASHVILLE, Tennessee – As part of its ongoing effort to get all riders to mask up, WeGo Public Transit is taking the federal mask mandate head-on. A giant facemask has been created in-house and is on display on a parked passenger van at WeGo Central bus station in downtown Nashville.
“Communicating COVID safety is a top priority at WeGo,” WeGo Marketing, Communications, and Sales Director Renuka Christoph said. “As we continue to utilize traditional communication channels for messaging, we hope that masking one of the vehicles in our fleet will garner some attention and help to keep everyone safe.”
The temporary installation is a visual reminder that masks continue to be required on all WeGo vehicles and in all WeGo facilities to help curb the spread of COVID-19. Painted on the front of the mask are the words “please mask up.”
“We prioritize the safety of everyone who utilizes our public transit system,” WeGo Senior Safety Program Manager Nicholas Oldham said. “All WeGo vehicles and facilities are being tested for COVID-19 on a rotating schedule to help mitigate the risk of communal COVID-19 infectious spread.”
The masked van is slated to remain in place for the duration of the mask requirement. In addition to requiring masks, WeGo continues to disinfect high touch point surfaces and follow stringent health and safety protocols.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – The Atlanta Press Club recently announced that Marshall Latimore, former Editor-In-Chief of The Atlanta Voice, will be inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame on November 11.
Latimore died earlier this year on March 10 at the age of 36. He came to The Atlanta Voice in 2017 after serving as the Editor-In-Chief of Nashville’s Stay On The Go Magazine.
“The Atlanta Press Club is pleased to recognize the work of Marshall Latimore at our 2021 Hall of Fame ceremony,” said Kristi Wooten, president of The Atlanta Press Club. “Typically, this honor is reserved for journalists with many decades of experience; however, Latimore’s impact prompted our nomination committee to rethink what it means to build a legacy in media, something he achieved within his short lifespan. In these uncertain times, our hope is that Marshall Latimore’s induction into the Hall of Fame will shine a spotlight on his contributions and inspire a new generation of young journalists.”
This year marks the eleventh anniversary of the Atlanta Press Club’s Hall of Fame program. The organization is also inducting Billye Aaron, former co-host of WSB-TV’s Today in Georgia; Rebecca Burns former editor-in-chief of Atlanta Magazine; Jim Galloway former editor for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; and Paul Hemphill, former sportswriter.
“What I respected most about Marshall was his work ethic and his disciplined approach to the job,” said Michael B. Jordan, Atlanta Press Club Board member and EIC of ButterATL. “We got to know each other during media events, and I always enjoyed talking shop with him, hearing his off-the-record opinions about happenings in Atlanta’s media, political, entrepreneurial and entertainment circles.”
“Marshall knew much more than he told and was wise beyond his years — incredibly smart and always prepared, but consistently unbothered. He was a standout example of leadership, and I hope more young Black journalists in Atlanta and beyond will follow in his footsteps.”
Janis Ware, publisher of The Atlanta Voice said, “Marshall Latimore was definitely a journalist force, not just here in Atlanta but in journalism in general. When he passed we were shocked at the many people in journalism who reached out and the many publications based outside of Atlanta that published something on his passing. And he had a major impact here at The Atlanta Voice. A lot of how we as a company operate today is due to Marshall’s influence, so he will never be forgotten, at least not within the walls of our organization.
The Atlanta Press Club 2021 Hall of Fame is made possible in part by Title Sponsors The Coca-Cola Company and The Southern Company, and Platinum Sponsor, The Home Depot.
If you would like to sponsor this event, become a host committee member or purchase sponsor tickets, please contact phovater@atlpressclub.org.
Nashville, TN – Scarritt Bennett Center (SBC), Nashville’s premier conference, retreat, and transformative education center, has selected educator, lawyer, and faith-based leader Rev. Sondrea L. Tolbert as its next executive director. Rev. Tolbert will begin her new role on November 1, 2021.
“We are excited to welcome Rev. Tolbert to Scarritt Bennett Center,” stated Andréa Hatcher, SBC Board Chairperson. “She is highly qualified, motivated, and will challenge SBC to continue living into its mission of hospitality and education ministries of justice, equality, and reconciliation in new and exciting ways.” Rev. Tolbert succeeds Sarah Wilke, who has led SBC for five years.
Rev. Tolbert is a committed leader with a love for education and empowerment. She is the immediate past Director of the National Consortium of Black Women in Ministry, Nashville Chapter (NCBWIM), where she fostered a focus on the community through ministry initiatives involving breast cancer awareness, domestic violence, and HIV/AIDS. While leading NCBWIM, Rev. Tolbert established Pink Sunday Nashville which is held throughout churches in middle Tennessee to raise breast cancer awareness.
“It is indeed an honor to be selected by the Board as the guardian of the safe, sacred space of the historic Scarritt Bennett Center,” said Rev. Tolbert. “It is this place where transformation takes place to educate, equip, and empower lives and communities.”
A dynamic leader, Rev. Tolbert is an ordained minister who uses her myriad skills in the marketplace and ministry. At the core of her work is her faith. Rev. Tolbert is a transformative servant leader, visionary, community organizer, educator, author, and passionate advocate for women. A true woman of substance, Rev. Tolbert is the first woman ordained and appointed as Assistant Pastor of the historic Fairfield Missionary Baptist Church in Goodlettsville, TN. Rev. Tolbert is also the author of On the Bright Side Morning Joy Devotions, a freelance writer for Abingdon Press, and founder of Sisterhood ROCKS Ministry (Radically Obedient Christian-Women Kingdom Surrendered).
The Alabama native has a significant history in Nashville, serving as an administrator at Meharry Medical College and Adjunct Professor at Tennessee State University. Rev. Tolbert also practiced law at the Nashville-based firm Watkins, Clayton & Tolbert, and most recently served as a Judicial Law Clerk for Judge Monte Watkins, Davidson County Criminal Court Division V.
Rev. Tolbert’s education speaks boldly of her appreciation for both formal and informal learning. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Fisk University, a Master of Divinity from Payne Theological Seminary in Wilberforce, OH, and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from North Carolina Central University School of Law in Durham, NC.
Rev. Tolbert is unstoppable in her drive to make the world a better place. “Her overarching career in law, higher education, and theology make her the perfect fit to continue SBC’s growth as a hub for women’s empowerment, racial justice, spiritual formation, and education of the laity,” said Rev. Dr. Chestina Archibald, former chaplain at Fisk University.
As executive director, Rev. Tolbert will work closely with SBC staff and board to ensure its campus can continue to be a place for justice and transformative education both locally and nationally.
Deontay Wilder likely broke his powerful right hand in the fourth round while twice flooring Tyson Fury during his 11th-round TKO loss on Oct. 9
Wilder underwent a 90-minute surgery on Monday in Atlanta to repair the hand’s metacarpal bone nine days after he was dropped once each in the third, 10th and final rounds, and was ultimately stopped by the WBC heavyweight champion “Gypsy King,” both his co-manager and trainer confirmed to Zenger.
“I believe he broke his hand in the fourth round when he knocked Fury down twice,” said trainer Malik Scott, who texted Zenger, “Hey, surgery went well. Deontay is in recovery as we speak,” on Monday.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if it was during the first knockdown when he really turned everything over and delivered that punch. But it is what it is. Deontay’s right hand was hurt, but he just fought through it.”
The 6-foot-7 Wilder (42–2–1, 41 KOs) used the right hand to score a pair of fourth-round knockdowns on the 6-foot-9 Fury (31–0–1, 22 KOs) on Oct. 9, but was dropped once each in the third, 10th and 11th, the final time for good.
“Deontay is not sure exactly if it was a punch to the head or an uppercut, but he broke his right hand at the metacarpal bone behind the third knuckle,” co-manager Shelly Finkel told Zenger on Sunday in advance of a procedure by Dr. Saadiq El-Amin of the Orthopaedic Sports & Medicine Institute in Lawrenceville, Ga.
“The doctor called me afterward and told me that the surgery went well. Deontay will be out for about three months, and then we’ll look at returning in the spring of next year.”
In two previous meetings, Fury rose from ninth- and 12th-round knockdowns during a December 2018 draw with Wilder before dethroning him via two-knockdown, seventh-round TKO in their February 2020 rematch.
Trainer Malik Scott would like to see former champion Deontay Wilder (above) “get some rest while his hand heals, and then we can start some very light shadowboxing with the left hand to keep him active.” (Premier Boxing Champions)
Before the draw with Fury, Wilder suffered a break in his right arm during sparring 12 weeks out. Wilder said he was unable to gain full extension during the bout, revealing that injury a week after their bout.
Wilder suffered a torn left biceps during his initial loss to Fury that required surgery and therapy. Wilder revealed that injury during an interview after the fight on the Premier Boxing Champions’ podcast.
“The first fight with Fury, the draw, Deontay had to use one hand in training camp the entire time. The second fight was the torn bicep. “But this last fight was the first time Deontay entered the ring at his best against Tyson Fury,” said Scott, who became Wilder’s head trainer in the final bout of their trilogy.
“I predicted that Tyson Fury would be knocked out within the first five rounds, and Deontay almost did it in the fourth round. But to his credit, Tyson Fury got up, beat the bell ending the fourth, and came out victorious.”
WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (standing) dropped Deontay Wilder once each in the third, 10th (above) and final rounds of his 11th-round TKO victory on Oct. 9, twice rising from the canvas in the fourth round to do so. (Sean Michael Ham/TGB Promotions)
Wilder, aka “The Bronze Bomber,” has had several injuries throughout his career to his arms and fists, dating back to a 90-second TKO of Travis Allen in his seventh professional fight in August 2009.
Wilder required separate surgeries to repair a broken right hand and torn biceps in the same arm suffered during a July 2016 eighth-round stoppage of Chris Arreola. The dual surgeries followed a brief procedure on July 21 to help stabilize the hand.
Including the Arreola fight, at that point Wilder had broken his right hand at least three times in seven years, having had metal pins inserted after an injury suffered against Allen.
Wilder then refractured the hand against Bermane Stiverne in January 2015, when he won the world title with a unanimous decision to become America’s first heavyweight champion since Shannon Briggs in 2007 — but didn’t have surgery following the second break.
“Deontay has done a lot of damage in the heavyweight division, but no fighter ever enters the ring at 100 percent,” Scott said. “All of Deontay’s breaks have come from throwing that right hand as hard as he does. Everybody who has felt it knows the impact that his right hand carries.”
In spite of his ailments, Wilder had recorded seven straight knockouts before battling to the draw with Fury, and he has knocked down or stopped every man he has faced as a professional.
Wilder is 10–2–1 (9 KOs) in title fights, and 9–0–1 (9 KOs) in 10 consecutive defenses. The 10 defenses are tied with Muhammad Ali for fifth all-time among heavyweights.
“I’m sure it will take Deontay three or four months to recover, but he won’t be fighting until the middle of next year anyway,” Finkel said. “If Deontay says ‘Give me the winner of [Oleksandr] Usyk and [Anthony] Joshua,’ I would say, ‘fine.’ If he said give me [Andy] Ruiz or a fourth fight with Fury, I would say, ‘of course’’”
Scott believes that a return to light training might be the best therapy for Wilder.
“If it’s up to me, Deontay will get some rest while his hand is casted up, and then we can start some very light shadow boxing with the left hand to keep him active,” Scott said.
“Deontay is a top boxer who is always one fight away from fighting for the title again. So it looks like he can return sometime after February, if not next spring, depending on the plan we come up with, meaning myself, Shelly Finkel and [co-manager and assistant trainer] Jay Deas.”
Wilder could not be reached for comment, although he released a statement on social media late last week.
“Although I wanted to win, I enjoyed seeing the fans win even more. Hopefully I proved that I am a true warrior and a true king in this sport,” Wilder said, in part.
“Hopefully we proved that no matter how hard you get hit with trials and tribulations, you can always pick yourself up and to live and fight again for what you believe in. Last but not least, I would like to congratulate the ‘Gypsy King’ for his victory and I thank you for the great historical memories that will last forever.”
An Atlanta, Georgia, police officer was hit by a speeding car while he was investigating an accident by the side of the road.
The incident took place Oct. 6 on Interstate 75.
In the body-cam footage, cars are seen whizzing past at high speed on the highway. As the officer turns to face the other way, a car struck him from behind.
The footage was shared by the Atlanta Police Department, which said: “On Wednesday, October 6, 2021, at around 8:10 a.m., Officer Steven Randerson, a nine-year veteran of the Atlanta Police Department, was investigating a traffic accident on I-75 NB near 17th St NW. The vehicles from the accident had been moved to the right shoulder of the highway and Ofc. Randerson positioned his police vehicle behind them to warn oncoming traffic of the hazard and to shield the citizen’s vehicles from another collision.”
Randerson was taking photos of the accident when he was hit by a car.
“While Ofc. Randerson was outside the police vehicle, but still in the right shoulder of the highway, another vehicle approached. The oncoming vehicle was traveling too fast for the wet conditions and lost control as it approached the area of the accident.”
Officer Steven Randerson takes a photo of the wrecked cars. A speeding car on Interstate-75 in Atlanta hit Randerson while he was investigating the accident. (Atlanta Police Department/Zenger)
The police said the approaching vehicle left the traffic lane and went into the area where the officer was working. The officer did not see the vehicle coming, as he was standing in the opposite direction.
The officer was seriously injured in the incident and is still recovering. The driver who hit him was given a citation for going too fast, police said.
The department also said: “We are grateful that Officer Randerson is in the healing process. This could have ended so much worse. This incident is a reminder of the many dangerous situation’s officers can and do encounter each day and how grateful we should all be for their service.”
Police officer Steven Randerson was struck by a speeding car in Atlanta, Georgia, and badly hurt. (Atlanta Police Department/Zenger)
The police reminded motorists of Georgia’s Move Over Law. The law, in place since 2003, states that drivers must move-over one lane when emergency vehicles are stopped on the side of the road.
Speeding impairs driving and failing to consider weather conditions puts everyone, including officers, at risk, the police post said.
“Your focus and consideration while driving can save lives or destroy them. Protect our officers and protect your fellow citizens by making safety your priority.”
To date, five Georgia law enforcement officers have been killed in the line of duty in 2021, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
Researchers have found a unique group of jaguars deep in the Brazilian wetlands that primarily survive by fishing and lead very social lives, unlike other members of the species.
Jaguars are typically solitary, except for mothers with cubs, and they eat mainly deer and other mammals.
Yet Oregon State University researchers and a team of international scientists appear to have found the opposite behavior in a group of jaguars (Panthera onca) in the wetlands of Brazil’s Northern Pantanal, northwest of São Paulo. The Pantanal, which extends into Paraguay and Bolivia, is the largest tropical wetland in the world.
The jaguar is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus Panthera native to the Americas. In 2016, International Union for Conservation of Nature classified the big cat as “Near Threatened.”
According to the study, published in the journal Ecology, the observed jaguars showed contrary behavior, with diets that consisted mainly of fish and reptiles, which they skilfully caught themselves in the flooded wetlands.
Motion-sensing cameras showed that the big cats spent most of their time socializing, often by swimming together and relaxing on the river bank with members of their group, known collectively as a prowl or a leap.
Jaguars taking a drink in the northern Pantanal in Brazil. The typically solitary creatures have become very sociable, potentially due to the abundance of food. (Daniel Kantek/Zenger)
Charlotte Eriksson, a doctoral student at Oregon State and the lead author of the paper, said the findings contradict the established belief that jaguars are solitary mammals whose social interactions are limited to courting or disputes over territory.
The researchers carried out almost all their work from boats as the wetlands inhabited by the jaguars are isolated, with no roads and no settlements in the region.
“Everything is boat-based. We obviously can’t drive. And we can’t really walk because there is water and … a ton of jaguars,” said Eriksson.
The researchers had to be covered from head to toe to avoid being bitten by bloodsucking insects in the flooded region.
A lake in northern Pantanal in Brazil. The Pantanal is the world’s largest tropical wetland and has an unusually high density of jaguars. (Daniel Kantek/Zenger)
Taal Levi, an associate professor at Oregon State, said the region has an unusually high density of jaguars. Levi initiated the project in collaboration with Brazilian researchers in 2014.
The study found that the jaguars’ diet comprised 55 percent reptiles, 46 percent fish, and just 11 percent mammals.
“This finding indicates jaguars in this region have by far the most aquatic diet and the least mammal consumption of any previously studied jaguar,” the researchers said.
“Even tigers in the Sundarbans mangrove forest in India, which may be the most comparable large family of cats in a similar habitat to the jaguars in the Brazilian region, consume mostly land-based mammals,” they said.
Jaguars in the northern Pantanal in Brazil seem to be eschewing meat in favor of fish, with only 11 percent of their diet consisting of mammals. (Charlotte Eriksson/Zenger)
The scientists believe the density of jaguars in the area is so high because of the abundance and distribution of aquatic prey.
This abundance may also have encouraged the jaguars to be more sociable and playful, as competition for food is less of a concern.
“If there is a lot of food around, there is less of a need to fight over it,” Eriksson said.
Researchers documented 80 independent social interactions between adult jaguars, with one of the most impressive moments being when two male jaguars spent over half an hour sitting in front of a camera playing together.
“Typically, you rarely see an apex predator on camera because they move over really large areas. Jaguars were the most frequently seen mammal on camera, which is really unusual,” Eriksson said.
Video shows Russian troops rehearsing a D-Day-style landing in Crimea, which the Russian Federation invaded and subsequently annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
The footage, posted on Oct. 19, shows anti-tank defenses set up along the beach as infantry soldiers storm it. It then shows a soldier crawling along the ground with what appears to be a mine detector, before showing a number of vessels deploying troops on the shore.
The front of one vessel opens and soldiers run out, taking the beach, as a larger vessel can be seen at sea in the background.
The footage then shows the larger vessel as the front opens up to release a tank.
Other tanks and armored vehicles are then deployed on the beach as reinforcements for the soldiers after the infantry secured the position.
The armored vehicles can then be seen taking the dunes as the video ends.
Russian troops deploy during an exercise on coastal defense in an amphibious assault at the Opuk combat training ground in Crimea. (Ministry of Defense of Russia/Zenger)
Video of the exercise, which is reminiscent of how the beaches in Normandy were stormed by the Allies in World War II, was posted online by the Russian Ministry of Defense. The Ministry said that its forces “conducted a tactical exercise to defend the coast during the landing of amphibious assault forces at the Opuk combat training ground in the Crimea.”
In a statement on its website, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that a Marine Corps unit, under the cover of the fleet’s naval forces, deployed from large, amphibious ships and took the beach before advancing on the “enemy.”
“As part of the exercise, the Black Sea Fleet marines on the BTR-82A, under the cover of aviation and naval forces of the fleet, disembarked from large amphibious ships, fought for the landing, occupied the coastal sector and advanced deep into the positions of the conditional enemy,” the Ministry said.
“The defending subunits, in turn, using missile and artillery subunits, carried out the suppression of naval artillery and struck at the landing subunits during their landing on the shore.
“Then the anti-amphibious defense artillery continued to defeat the landing ships of the landing enemy, and operational-tactical aviation, as part of the Su-34 aircraft, attached to the defending troops, also worked for naval targets.
“In the final stage, the participants in the exercise worked out actions to change firing positions, regroup missile, artillery and tank units under the cover of aerosol camouflage.”
The Ministry said about 8,000 servicemen took part in the exercise.
On D-Day, June 6, 1944, British, American, Canadian, and French forces attacked German forces on the coast of Normandy, France, marking a turning point in World War II.
New research shows a connection between extreme cold and hot outdoor temperatures and low birth weight.
The results from researchers at Bar-Ilan University in conjunction with the University of Haifa, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, the Israel Meteorological Service and several academic institutions in Spain, were published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
Led by Dr. Keren Agay-Shay, director of the Health and Environment Research Lab at the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University, the researchers analyzed 624,940 births in Israel from 2010 to 2014.
Consistent associations between high and low temperatures and fetal birth weight were observed. The strongest links occurred during the second and third trimesters.
Women exposed to cold temperatures had lower estimated mean birth weights of 56 grams (1.9 ounces). Those exposed to hot temperatures saw a drop in estimated mean birth weight of 65 grams (2.3 ounces).
Cold and hot weather during the third trimester resulted in the most significant outcomes, but also occurred at a lower rate during the first and second trimesters.
Dr. Keren Agay-Shay of Bar-Ilan University (Dror Miller)
“Lower birth weight may indicate abnormalities in intrauterine growth and is a risk factor for morbidity during early childhood and over the entire life course,” Agay-Shay said.
Israel is an ideal place to conduct such a study because there are several extreme climate zones in proximity: the Mediterranean (characterized by a dry, hot summer), and semi-arid and desert/arid regions, both characterized by a dry climate and hot temperatures.
The study looked at all live births, including preterm births and those with birth defects.
The most vulnerable period for pregnant women to bundle up from the cold was between three and 36 weeks, with the strongest association during week 36. For heat, vulnerability was greatest from weeks three to nine and weeks 19 to 34.
While the data provides important insights today, Agay-Shay is even more concerned about the future as extreme weather and temperatures increase.
Public health organizations could use the study’s results “to develop strategies to address these challenges on a national as well as a community level,” while clinicians could construct and refine the set of recommendations they provide to pregnant women,” she said.
“Infants born at a very low birth weight (less than 1500 grams [3.5 pounds]) account for approximately 1 percent of all live births in Israel, but account for 45 percent of the neonatal deaths nationally,” according to Israel’s Gertner Institute, which researches and studies epidemiology and health policy.
In the United States, the percentage of infants born low birth weight was 8.31 percent for 2019, a nonsignificant increase from 2018 (8.28 percent),” according to a 2019 report from the National Center for Health Statistics. The low birth weight rate (the percentage of infants born at less than 2,500 grams or 5 pounds, 8 ounces) has risen 4 percent since the most recent low in 2014 (8 percent) and is the highest rate reported since the 2006 peak (8.26 percent).
“The very low birth weight, less than 1,500 grams, rate was unchanged at 1.38 percent in 2019,” the reports states.
Two Russian fighter jets escorted a pair of U.S. strategic bombers over the Black Sea and away from Russian territory, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said in a news release. The mid-air altercation took place a day after the U.S. Secretary of Defense slammed the Kremlin for “destabilizing activities” in the region.
While the U.S. had not responded specifically to Russian’s declaration that it had steered the bombers away from its borders as of this posting, it had put out a news release on Tuesday with the headline, “Bomber Task Force Europe: B-1s thunder through Black Sea for maritime mission.”
“Two B-1s executed a counter maritime mission while integrating with NATO allies and partner forces to enhance interoperability and provide training opportunities to U.S. bomber aircrew deployed to the theater,” the air force statement said.
In its statement released on Wednesday, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said that two Russian Su-30 fighters from its Black Sea Fleet Air Defense and Naval Aviation Duty Force escorted two U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer supersonic strategic bombers over the Black Sea.
Part of that interaction can be seen in footage released by the ministry, which appears to show a Russian fighter jet guiding a U.S. bomber that is undergoing aerial refueling away from the Russian mainland.
The escort was carried out in full accordance with intentional law and was initiated because U.S. bombers were approaching Russian airspace, the defense ministry said.
“Russian fighter crews identified the aerial targets as two US Air Force supersonic strategic B-1B bombers, accompanied by two KC-135 refueling planes, and escorted them over the waters of the Black Sea,” the ministry said. “After the foreign warplanes had been turned away from Russia’s state border, the Russian fighters safely returned to their home airbase.”
One of the B1-B Lancer bombers was refueling when Russian fighters approached over the Black Sea. (Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation/Zenger)
The incident came a day after U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited Ukraine and made several critical comments about Russia’s “destabilizing activities” in the Black Sea.
Austin’s visit focused on major regional issues such as the Russian occupation of Crimea, the alleged militarization of its eastern border with Ukraine, and the Kremlin’s movements in the Black Sea.
“So we again call on Russia to end its occupation of Crimea, to stop perpetuating the war in eastern Ukraine, to end its destabilizing activities in the Black Sea and along Ukraine’s borders, and to halt its persistent cyber-attacks and other malign activities against the United States and our allies and partners,” Austin tweeted.
The Costa Rican Coast Guard seized a submarine carrying nearly 4,000 pounds of cocaine and arrested three crew members with drug trafficking.
The incident took place in the Pacific Ocean, near the country’s border with Panama, on Oct. 18.
The Costa Rican Coast Guard said it seized 1,788 packets of cocaine onboard the semi-submersible, each weighing around 2.2 pounds.
The Costa Rican Ministry of Public Security shared footage of the bust on social media and said: “The Minister of Public Security, Mr. Michael Soto Rojas, referred to the recent coup against drug trafficking, where the Costa Rican Coast Guard intercepted a semi-submersible with a drug shipment and captured a crew 40 kilometres [25 miles] off the coast of Golfito in Puntarenas in the South Pacific.
“As part of its work with other countries … the Costa Rican Coast Guard received information from the Colombian authorities and deployed an interceptor boat to the sector where the suspicious vessel was located.”
Costa Rican police stand on a narco-sub, a semi-submerged vessel, which captured 4,000 pounds of cocaine. Three crew members were arrested in the seizure. (Ministry of Public Security of Costa Rica/Zenger)
Two of the arrested crew members were Colombian nationals and the third was Ecuadorian.
The Costa Rican authorities identified the suspects operating the narco submarine as Montano, Colombian, 46, Mina, Colombian, 30; and Vargas, Ecuadorian, 27. None of the men had a criminal record in the country.
The police also described the vessel that had smuggled the drugs. It said “authorities confiscated the low-profile, gray semi-submersible boat, 45 feet long, without name or flag, and three engines of 75 HP each, as well as electronic navigation and communication equipment.
“The three detainees were presented to the Public Ministry for the apparent crime of drug trafficking.”
Police intercepted a vessel with a drug shipment of 1,778 packages of cocaine. (Ministry of Public Security of Costa Rica/Zenger)
Costa Rican security forces also carried out two seizures on March 16 and 18, 2021, seizing 3.2 tons of cocaine in the Limón province, on the Caribbean coast, according to the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Security.
The operation was coordinated with intelligence support from Colombia, Panama and the United States. “This cocaine enters the national territory, it is stored … and it is what we sometimes find when inspecting containers that are bound for Europe” said Soto Rojas, Minister of Public Security.
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Northland also successfully intercepted several suspected drug smuggling ships in September in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. The patrol resulted in the seizure of 7,833 pounds of cocaine.
