Are We Going to War with Venezuela? (with David Frum) - Malcolm Nance

[MalcolmNance]

4. That boat was Tiny

Let me answer your question: "Do you know if that boat has enough fuel to get to the United States?"

Not at all. This Panga vessel was sporting x4 300HP Mercury outboard engines. They use 25-gallon fuel tanks. At the relatively low speed of 10kts, that vessel could only transit 165 miles. The closest US shore is Puerto Rico at 465 miles. That would require this vessel to refuel twice before even closing near US territory. The continental US is Key West at 1290 nm away from Venezuela. So the argument that it was headed to the USA is laughable. Please don't think of a word of it. A more likely scenario is that the vessel was transiting civilians and perhaps even a small supply of drugs to Trinidad and Tobago at 30kts.

Pangas and super pangas, like the one in the video, have been used for smuggling, especially in the four-engine high-speed configuration, but typically for the terminal leg of smuggling, such as from Mexico to the USA. Most smuggling occurs in the Pacific and uses single engines and maximum loads with maximum fuel loads.

There are more questions than answers on this one.