I've been asked a question by a Conservative friend who thinks that the Trump administration is simply destroying boats in international waters without knowing for sure that they are indeed drug boats. He doesn't have a great understanding of the military or intelligence-gathering abilities we have in the US.
I suspect that these boats are identified through a combination of HUMINT (people on the ground), satellite and drone monitoring, use of FLIR imaging, and interception of communications by the drug lords... but I can't prove any of this.
Anyone here know how we know that these boats are narco-shipments and not innocent fishermen or pleasure craft?
Probably watch them load the boat when they leave the dock. We do have a satellite coverage over the entire earth that can read the print on a newspaper from 200 miles up. Since they were declared narco terrorist, all assets deployed.