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It’s ~1,000 miles from the US to Venezuela. Have you ever been on a fishing boat? Especially an “overpowered” one? Guess how much fuel they burn? It’s very unlikely a boat has enough fuel to make it to the US, and if it did it would need fuel to get back. Where are they getting the fuel for these drug runs?

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You can read about the logistics from countless sources.

For most boats, it's not a straight shot to the US, they often refuel from boats at sea or utilize refueling points in Central America; or perform a handoff in Puerto Rico or the Dominican Republic.

They don't "need the fuel to get back," the boats are scuttled on arrival. The value of the boats and fuel is a rounding error compared to the value of the drugs.

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