Moreno-Morillo

We must decide a challenge to the constitutionality of the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act arising out of the boarding by the United States Coast Guard of a foreign vessel in international waters off the west coast of Mexico and the arrest and conviction of the Colombian nationals on board.

I

Carlos Moreno-Morillo, Alberto Gonzalez-Rivas, Jose Sabino-Caicedo, and Bernardo Pandeles-Valencia (“Defendants”) are Colombian nationals who were on board a vessel in international waters approximately 200 miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico on July 20, 2000. The U.S.S. Antietam, a U.S. Navy destroyer, was patrolling those same waters that night, carrying a United States Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment Team. A naval helicopter based on the Antietam spotted the ship sitting dead in the water. Soon thereafter, the vessel began moving south and one of the men on board was observed speaking on a radio. The naval personnel in the helicopter then contacted the Antietam, which proceeded to the area. Upon seeing the approaching Antietam, the vessel’s speed increased and its occupants were observed pulling white bundles from below-deck compartments on the vessel, which they proceeded to…