The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Diligence returned to homeport in Pensacola Friday after a 47-day Caribbean Sea patrol.
Diligence performed counter-drug operations in support of the U.S. Government’s Joint Interagency Task Force–South, which conducts detection and monitoring operations in the Caribbean to facilitate the interdiction of illicit trafficking in support of national and partner nation security.
The U.S. Coast Guard works alongside interagency and international partners to prevent and respond to dangerous and illegal maritime smuggling from Central and South America. Diligence supported these efforts by patrolling the Southwestern Caribbean Sea in an effort to detect and deter maritime smuggling in the region.
During the patrol, Diligence intercepted a vessel with approximately 150 gallons of suspected liquefied cocaine and detained four suspected smugglers. Additionally, Diligence received from other U.S. law enforcement agencies more than 7,700 pounds of narcotics and six additional smugglers apprehended, and orchestrated the successful transfer of the cases to U.S. authorities for prosecution. The 47-day patrol was also critical in allowing Diligence’s crew to work on shipboard training, qualifications and proficiency to maintain operational readiness.
“This patrol presented several unique and dynamic challenges,” said Diligence Commanding Officer Cmdr. Luke Slivinski. “Characteristic of a seagoing service, we never know what adventures lay ahead. I am immensely proud of and impressed by Diligence’s crew for their steadfast ability to adapt to the task at hand and carry out the mission with professionalism and proficiency.”
The cutter Diligence is a 210-foot medium endurance cutter homeported in Pensacola with a crew of 75. The cutter’s primary missions are counter drug operations, migrant interdiction, enforcing federal fishery laws, and search and rescue in support of Coast Guard operations throughout the Western Hemisphere.
