>> Thompson: AN ARTICLE IN THIS

WEEKEND'S "NEW YORK TIMES

MAGAZINE" DESCRIBES TOUGH

TACTICS BEING USED WITH GREATER

FREQUENCY BY THE U.S. MILITARY

TO STOP DRUG TRAFFICKING AROUND

THE WORLD.

"THE COAST GUARD'S FLOATING

GUANTANAMOS" REPORTS ON HOW

SUSPECTED DRUG SMUGGLERS ARE

BEING DETAINED AT SEA FOR WEEKS

OR EVEN MONTHS BEFORE THEY ARE

CHARGED WITH A CRIME OR APPEAR

IN AN AMERICAN COURT.

THIS HAPPENED ALMOST 700 TIMES

BETWEEN LAST SEPTEMBER AND THIS

SEPTEMBER.

"NEW YORK TIMES" REPORTER SETH

FREED WESSLER WROTE THE STORY IN

PARTNERSHIP WITH THE

INVESTIGATIVE FUND AT THE NATION

INSTITUTE, AND HE JOINS ME NOW

FROM BOSTON.

SO, FIRST, SETH, I WANTED YOU TO

JUST DESCRIBE TO US WHAT EXACTLY

THE COAST GUARD IS DOING.

AND YOU ALSO FEATURE THE STORY

OF A GENTLEMAN NAMED JOHNNY.

CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT

ABOUT WHAT HE EXPERIENCED?

>> WELL, THE U.S. COAST GUARD

HAS BEEN DEPLOYED DEEP INTO THE

PACIFIC OCEAN, SOMETIMES AS MANY

AS 3,000 MILES AWAY FROM THE

NEAREST U.S. PORT, TO PICK UP

SHIPMENTS OF COCAINE MOVED

BETWEEN SOUTH AMERICA-- COLOMBIA

AND ECUADOR-- AND CENTRAL

AMERICA.

AND THEY'RE PICKING UP SUSPECTED

SMUGGLERS ABOARD SMALL

SPEEDBOATS IN THE OCEAN.

AND I WRITE ABOUT A NUMBER OF

MEN WHO WERE DETAINED BY THE

COAST GUARD ABOARD U.S. SHIPS IN

INTERNATIONAL WATERS AND HELD

THERE FOR WEEKS OR MONTHS AT A

TIME IN A KIND OF DETENTION

THAT'S EXPANDING RAPIDLY IN THE

SORT OF MARITIME WAR ON DRUGS.

>> Thompson: TALK A LITTLE BIT

MORE ABOUT THE CONDITIONS THAT

THESE MEN WERE HELD IN.

>> THEY DESCRIBE CONDITIONS

WHERE THEY WERE... THEY WERE...

THEY WERE SHACKLED, OFTEN VERY

TIGHTLY IN TIGHT QUARTERS,

UNSHACKLED ONLY TO BE ALLOWED TO

USE THE BATHROOM, WHICH OFTEN

WAS ONLY A PLASTIC BUCKET ON THE

DECK OF THE SHIP, AND HELD DAY

AFTER DAY.

IN THE CASE OF JHONNY

ARCENTALES, WHO I WRITE ABOUT,

AN ECUADORAN FISHERMAN, HE WAS

HELD WITH A GROUP OF OTHER MEN

FOR 70 DAYS ABOARD A SERIES OF

COAST GUARD CUTTERS.

AND HE REALLY BELIEVED THAT HE

MIGHT DISAPPEAR.

HE HAD NO IDEA WHERE HE WAS

BEING TAKEN.

HE WAS SIMPLY BEING HELD AS THE

COAST GUARD CUTTERS WERE MOVING

AROUND THE PACIFIC, PICKING UP

MORE SUSPECTED SMUGGLERS AND

DETAINING THEM ABOARD THE SHIPS.

>> Thompson: SO, WHERE DO THESE

PEOPLE END UP?

>> WELL, IN YEARS PAST, WHEN THE

COAST GUARD HAS PICKED UP DRUGS

IN THE OCEAN, IT'S VERY OFTEN

SENT THE SMUGGLERS ON BOARD

THOSE BOATS BACK TO THEIR

COUNTRIES, BACK TO COUNTRIES

NEARBY.

BUT SINCE 2012, WHEN THE

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE LAUNCHED

A PROGRAM CALLED "OPERATION

MARTILLO" WHICH REALLY HAS

FOCUSED ON TRYING TO INTERDICT

DRUGS-- COCAINE MOSTLY-- IN AND

NEAR THE TRANSIT ZONES WHEN THEY

LEAVE SOUTH AMERICA, SMUGGLERS,

SUSPECTED SMUGGLERS HAVE BEEN

BROUGHT BACK TO THE UNITED

STATES IN HUGE NUMBERS TO FACE

PROSECUTION HERE.

>> Thompson: CAN YOU TALK A

LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT THE

COAST GUARD SAID TO YOU DURING

YOUR REPORTING THIS STORY?

AND WHAT'S THEIR RESPONSE?

>> WELL, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, THE

COAST GUARD... THE COAST GUARD

SAYS THAT IT'S LOGISTICALLY

DIFFICULT TO OPERATE IN THE HIGH

SEAS OF THE PACIFIC, VERY FAR

AWAY FROM... FROM THE UNITED

STATES.

AND WHAT'S CLEAR IS THAT THE

INFRASTRUCTURE TO MOVE PEOPLE

MORE QUICKLY OFF OF THE BOATS IS

NOT... NOT KEPT UP AT ALL.

COAST GUARD OFFICERS I SPOKE TO,

CURRENT AND FORMER COAST GUARD

OFFICERS, THEY'RE REALLY

UNCOMFORTABLE ABOUT THESE

PRACTICES.

THEY KNOW-- AND THE COAST GUARD

SAYS-- THESE SHIPS ARE NOT

EQUIPPED AS DETENTION CENTERS.

SO, INSTEAD, THEY'RE HOLDING

PEOPLE IN CONDITIONS THAT, FOR

THE DETAINEES, ARE REALLY... ARE

TERRIFYING.

>> Thompson: AND IS THERE ANY

EVIDENCE THAT THIS PRACTICE IS

STOPPING THE FLOW OF DRUGS INTO

THE U.S.?

>> WE CAN'T REALLY DRAW A LINE

BETWEEN WHAT THE U.S. COAST

GUARD IS DOING AND DRUG USE IN

THE UNITED STATES.

COCAINE USE IN PARTICULAR-- AND

WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT

COCAINE HERE-- GOES UP AND DOWN

EVEN AS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE

BEING DETAINED EACH YEAR IN

RECENT YEARS HAS BEEN GOING UP

AND UP AND UP.

>> Thompson: ALL RIGHT, SETH

FREED WESSLER, THANK YOU SO MUCH

FOR YOUR REPORTING.

>> THANK YOU.