N. Korea-Bound Ship With 'Military Cargo' Detained By Panama 105
HonorPoncaCityDotCom writes "BBC reports that a North Korean-flagged ship carrying suspected 'sophisticated missile equipment' bound from Cuba to North Korea has been stopped near Manzanillo on the Atlantic side of the canal. President Ricardo Martinelli said the authorities were checking the ship for drugs when they found the suspected weapons in containers of brown sugar. Experts believe the communist state is working towards developing a nuclear warhead small enough to put on a long-range missile. Under UN sanctions, North Korea is banned from weapons exports and the import of all but small arms. The 35-member crew have been detained, including the captain who the Panamanian president said tried to kill himself during the search. Security Minister Jose Raul Mulino said the ship 'aroused suspicion by the violent reaction of the captain and the crew.' Martinelli also published a photograph that appeared to show two large green containers, adding that the arms shipment had been uncovered 'in containers underneath a cargo of sugar.'" Also at the New York Times.
Re:Blowing up like ... (Score:5, Insightful)
Maybe it was because the ship was going through the Panama Canal.
Wait ... (Score:1, Insightful)
Does Cuba actually have sophisticated missile equipment?
They used to get most of their stuff from the Soviets, and I'm skeptical they have developed anything new recently. Granted, even an ancient Soviet missile could teach them a lot.
I'm also skeptical they suspected a drug shipment from Cuba ... not a big exporter of drugs Cuba.
Re:Cuban Missile crisis (Score:4, Insightful)
In the real Cuban missile crisis you had American soldiers manning missiles that were a few minutes away from Moscow. One country the missiles was in, is called Turkey.
What's good for the goose (Americans putting missiles just over the border from the USSR) should be good for the gander (Russians putting missiles just over the border from the USA). But nope. More Americunt Exceptionalism.
Re:What about the clever ships? (Score:3, Insightful)
You are working from the assumption Panama stumbled across this, rather than spies knowing it ahead of time.
How to take advantage of knowledge only a spy could know is a grand strategy game. In WWII, the allies had planes "stumble" over German ships they knew about from cracked codes, that they really needed to take out, but didn't wanna show their hand at deep knowledge.
Re:What about the clever ships? (Score:4, Insightful)
Yep. This isn't the first time customs agents for various countries have "accidentally" stumbled across North Korean contraband. It's a no-brainer to conclude that US intelligence agencies are responsible.
http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/japan-seizes-suspicious-north-korean-cargo-transit-myanmar/ [nti.org]
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gQJd8FsHXjzf35GeBg4bV1JrRfHQ?docId=CNG.caf81bda72044be6c361e53dc743c2a8.3e1 [google.com]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8227991.stm [bbc.co.uk]