Narcosubmarines by Javier Guerrero C

Author:Javier Guerrero C.
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789811390234
Publisher: Springer Singapore

The high number of seizures of these artefacts illustrates the popularity of this transport method among drug smugglers, and it shows different solutions to solve problems (such as floatability, stealth, propulsion, and access to materials). Furthermore, several combinations of off-the-shelf solutions and hull designs have been adopted by builders, thus providing drug smuggling groups with very different machines. Regarding cargo capacity, there is a wide variation in these artefacts from 1 to 10 tons of illicit drugs. Features that are important in some models are disregarded in others, and the ones found in different models are dissimilar in terms of design and materials (e.g., the ventilation of engines using ‘gooseneck’ tubes). The construction of the hull also presents a variety of materials. Some narcosubs are made of a combination of wood and glass fibre, others are a mixture of wood and steel, and yet others are built with steel or Kevlar.

A critical issue that separates these artefacts from other user-driven innovations is the fact that builders and owners (or owners of the illicit cargo) are not usually members of the crew. Early trials of the artefacts are carried out by the builders, but sailors are brought to the departure point when the artefact is being loaded; at that point, they get familiarised with the machine and receive instructions about its destination. Under such circumstances, sailors recruited based on kinship or because of their skills have to strike a balance between trust and the fragility of the vehicles (Usenyuk, Whalen, & Hyysalo, 2016). The fact that crews have nicknamed these artefacts ‘water coffins’ exemplifies the harsh conditions inside and the costs of failure. Sailors’ abilities and knowledge to solve problems regarding navigational issues and engine failures are critical, not only to fulfil their task but also to safeguard their own lives.

Their varied designs and manufacture practices (materials and shapes) suggest a combination of formalised knowledge in some cases, local knowledge, and navigational skills. The latter two are quite common in the areas where the narcosubs are built and sail from, places where fishers have traditionally built their boats and tinkered with engines due to a lack of repair shops nearby. Navigational skills are also fairly common in those areas, and the use of GPS complements traditional dead reckoning navigation methods. The ‘pick-and-mix’ strategy users implement to create ‘configurational technology’ adapted to their needs (Fleck, 1994) is a process of recombination in which existing components are adopted, modified, and/or recombined to create new forms customised to meet outlaw users’ requirements, or bricolage (Büscher, Gill, Mogensen, & Shapiro, 2001). These patterns of dispersed peer innovation (Hyysalo & Usenyuk, 2015), enabled by the recombination of existing materials and knowledge, pave the way to the creation of ‘hybrid’ artefacts (which can be found in two different forms, off-the-shelf boats covered with fibreglass or with other materials) and new narcosub designs (which represent a ‘flexible techno-meme’) used by different groups as generic solutions to transport significant amounts of illicit drugs.

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