The Number of Malibu-Area Panga Boat Incidents Increased in 2012; Issue Heats Up After Coast Guard Officer Killed Near Port Hueneme.

Congressman Henry Waxman and members of the California Congressional Delegation recently wrote to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano to express concern about increased panga boat smuggling activity along the Southern California coast and request a briefing on how the federal government is improving coastal security.

The smuggling activity turned fatal with the Dec. 2 death of Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III, 34, when the panga he and his team were pursuing rammed the Coast Guard boat, knocking him overboard into a propeller off the coast of Port Hueneme. Two Mexican nationals were apprehended off the San Diego coast and charged in Los Angeles with killing the federal officer.

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