Nation : U.S. Fires on Panama Freighter

A Coast Guard cutter opened fire on a 250-foot Panamanian freighter suspected of carrying drugs in the Gulf of Mexico today, but the vessel escaped into Mexican waters, officials said.

The freighter Hermann took two direct hits but did not stop, said Joe Gibson, a Coast Guard spokesman. There was no word on injuries.

Gibson said the Coast Guard asked the Mexican government to board the ship and inspect its cargo, but he had no word on whether the vessel had been intercepted. He said no Mexican vessels were known to be close by.

Before firing, the Coast Guard asked Panama through diplomatic channels for permission to use disabling fire and it was granted, he said. The freighter took hits in the engine compartment and at the rudder post, he said.

The freighter was registered in Panama and chartered by a Cuban mining company, but it was not known who owned it, he said. Havana complained today about the incident.