Piracy has returned to the Caribbean as Venezuela falls into chaos

Fishermen watch a boat that they suspect is being used by smugglers. Washington Post. 

Piracy has returned to the Caribbean as Venezuela and other countries devolve into lawlessness. Washington Post. 71 incidents of robbery and attacks on the high seas happened in the region in 2017. The attacks range from typical robberies to mass slaughter. Honduras, Nicaragua, Haiti and St. Lucia have all reported pirate attacks but the most dangerous area is around Venezuela. The socialist country has spiraled out of control and even government officials have attacked shipping demanding money and food. Trinidad and Tobago have long dealt with smugglers but the pirate attacks are new. 

My Comment:

Not often that I link to the Washington Post but this was an excellent article. Though they often make a mockery of their profession, occasionally the reporters at the Post put out a good article. When they do so I can give credit where credit is due. I just with they did this with political topics as well. 

Piracy is still a modern concern and one that has gotten quite a bit of attention in the past few years. In the past though, that attention was focused on Somali and the chaos that piracy was causing near the Horn of Africa. Several high profile incidents brought international attention to the area. 

That intentional attention helped with the problem. Though Somalia is still in a dire situation piracy is not anywhere near the threat it was previously. This was largely due to the massive international response to piracy that the international community launched. Many countries sent navel vessels to patrol the area and brought many of the pirates to justice. 

Something similar probably needs to happen in the Caribbean right now. It seems pretty clear that being a fisherman or sailor in the area is very dangerous right now. This has a very negative impact on the rest of the countries in the sea as they are being forced to deal with other countries problems. 

I don't know if there is a political will to deal with the problem though. Military patrols are expensive and most of the regional players do not have much in the way of navies. Of course the US Navy is the big dog in town but we have other priorities right now.

Complicating things is the involvement of government entities in this piracy. If the Post piece is right and it's Venezuelan Cost Guard ships doing these attacks then responding to them could cause an international incident or even war. And since Venezuela is one of the more impressive armies in South America that could be a real problem. The country seems to be itching for a war anyways as a way out of their economic crisis and nobody wants to give them an excuse. 

The economic crisis in Venezuela is the main cause of this. the country is collapsing and people are getting seriously desperate. It's not just the fact that the economy is collapsing, people are running out of food as well. And I have always said that a man who hasn't eaten for a week is the most dangerous kind of person you can ever see. It's not surprising at all that people from Venezuela are resorting to crime to feed themselves. 

I think this is a problem that is going to get worse as time passes. Venezuela's economic problems are not going to go away, especially with the regime there doubling down on socialism even though it's clear it isn't working for them. I predict that piracy will continue to be a problem in the Caribbean and that the current modern pirate stereotype will likely shift from a Somali warlord to a desperate Venezuelan.