Honduran authorities seized 211 kilograms of cocaine on Wednesday after searching a speedboat called "The Little Mermaid" in a joint operation with the US and Colombia, officials said. The boat's crew had "escaped" after spotting authorities in the Caribbean Sea, the Honduran Technical Criminal Investigation Agency said. Agents found the drugs in "false compartments" in The Little Mermaid's seats, the agency added. Honduras has long been an international corridor between the major South American drug-producing countries and the US market. Authorities there frequently conduct combined operations with the US and Colombia to fight the cartels. US prosecutors have aggressively pursued current or former Honduran public officials and their relatives, including the president's brother and the former police chief, over drug trafficking allegations. nl/dga/st/gle