Of note, it is dangerous and inflammatory to say that those we rescued were throwing drugs overboard or that the plane was looking for drugs. The Coast Guard planes that flew over were looking to see who they would be picking up later and to assess the needs of those in distress, as well as our boats needs and concerns. The Coast Guard would have sent a helicopter for pickup, for example, if someone had been seriously injured or if our ship was in danger.
Second, the imply that the things going overboard was cocaine is silly, especially because a simple look would have visually confirmed they were things to keep the raft afloat and the people afloat if the raft broke. Finally, do you genuinely think that drug dealers are taking their drugs across the Caribbean in homemade rafts made of oil barrels? Drug dealing is a lucrative business, especially if you're smuggling it across the ocean.
While you may have been joking, I have heard six separate groups perpetuating that incredibly dangerous and inflammatory lie last night and this morning. The plain fact is that those 14 people risked their lives to escape oppression, communism and who knows what else. The passengers screaming at the Coast Guardsman last night for "ruining our vacation" while they risk their lives everyday for our safety and security were disgusting and a disgrace.
