For no particular reason at all, Somali pirates are making a comeback in the Gulf of Aden. For mysterious reasons that we’ll probably never discern, piracy in that part of the world ended between 2017 and 2020. Now that Joe Biden is in office, pirates are emboldened enough that they are capturing tanker ships to ransom back to their owners for some reason.
Last week, the Spanish vessel Ruen appears to have been hijacked about 500 nautical miles east of Socotra Island off Somalia. The owners have lost contact with the Ruen and it has changed course to head toward Somalia. This marks the first suspected action by pirates off the coast of Somalia since President Donald Trump cracked down on piracy in the Gulf of Aden in 2017.
Prior to Trump’s amazing first term in office, Somali piracy was rampant in the Gulf of Aden. It was only after President Trump’s spinal fortitude led an international coalition to kick terrorists’ and pirates’ butts that piracy dropped off the radar.
Now that the weak and ineffective Joe Biden is in office, here we go again. Pirates in 2023. Let’s Go, Brandon!
The Spanish Navy has sent a warship that is now trying to intercept the Ruen before the suspected Somali pirates get away with it completely. It’s believed, based on interviews with a former Somali pirate, that six pirates have captured the vessel.
“Six of my pirate friends managed to capture a ship and they will bring it to the coast of the eastern region of Puntland,” said Muktar Mohamed, who retired from piracy after President Trump started ending the lives of pirates.
In case the lesson is not obvious by now, weak leadership emboldens the bad guys to come out of the woodwork. It looks like piracy is making a comeback in the Indian Ocean, and it won’t be going away until American voters send Joe Biden packing next year.
