Coast Guard seizes over 20,000 pounds of cocaine

By Naveen Athrappully
Contributing Writer

More than 20,000 pounds of cocaine were seized by the crew of USCGC Cutter Munro, the “largest at-sea interdiction in 18-plus years,” the U.S. Coast Guard said in a Friday post on X. 

“Through #OperationPacificViper, @USCG has accelerated counter-narcotics operations across the Eastern Pacific and delivered historic results in the fight against narco-terrorists,” the post stated. 

“Our maritime fighting force is leading America’s drug interdiction operations, protecting the homeland, and keeping deadly drugs out of American communities.” 

The Department of Homeland Security said in a Friday post on X that 20,000 pounds of cocaine was enough to create over 7.5 million potentially lethal doses of the drug. 

Operation Pacific Viper directs U.S. forces to the Eastern Pacific region to counter criminal and cartel organizations, essentially cutting off drug and human smuggling activities before they reach U.S. shores, the DHS said in a statement on Aug. 20. 

At the time, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said that “80% of illicit drug seizures occur at sea.” 

Another major drug seizure last week took place on Dec. 2 when a Coast Guard Station Miami Beach law enforcement boat crew seized roughly 3,715 pounds of cocaine, estimated to be worth $28 million, from a vessel suspected to be used for drug smuggling, the Customs and Border Protection said in a Friday statement. 

“Disrupting maritime narcotics smuggling like this demonstrates the power of teamwork in safeguarding our nation and holding criminals accountable,” said Andy Blanco, executive director of CBP Air and Marine Operations Southeast Region. 

“Smugglers should be warned that our whole-of-government team is watching, and they will be caught.” 

Lt. Matthew Ross, Coast Guard Station Miami Beach commanding officer, said this was the “largest USCG Small boat station cocaine seizure since 1995.” 

Crackdown on Drug Trafficking 

Under the Trump administration, military activity against alleged drug traffickers has intensified. Strikes against suspected drug trafficking boats began in the sea around Venezuela, and have expanded into the eastern Pacific Ocean near the Colombian coastline. 

One of the recent strikes was carried out on Thursday against a drug trafficking boat in the Eastern Pacific. The action was taken after Secretary of War Pete Hegseth ordered a “lethal kinetic strike” on the boat, the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a Thursday post on X. 

The boat was traversing international waters and was being operated by a designated terrorist organization, said SOUTHCOM, which oversees military operations in the Caribbean and near Latin America. 

“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illicit narcotics and transiting along a known narco-trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific. Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed,” according to SOUTHCOM. 

On Dec. 2, President Donald Trump said that land strikes in Venezuela against drug trafficking groups were under consideration. 

“We’re going to start doing those strikes on land too,” Trump said. “We know where they live. We know where the bad ones live, and we’re going to start that very soon.” 

Criticism has been raised against the Trump administration’s strikes on suspected drug boats. On Thursday, Congress held classified briefings regarding a deadly strike on an alleged drug boat in September in the South Caribbean that killed two people. 

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the leading Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told reporters that the video he saw during the briefing was “one of the most troubling things” he’s seen while in public service. 

“You have two individuals in clear distress without any means of locomotion, with a destroyed vessel, killed by the United States,” Himes said. 

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who also attended the briefing, said he “didn’t see anything disturbing” about the video. 

“What’s disturbing to me is that millions of Americans have died from drugs being run to America by these cartels,” Cotton said. 

Meanwhile, drug seizures hit a record in November, according to a Thursday statement from the CBP. Nationwide, 54,947 pounds of drugs were seized last month, up by 33% from October. 

Methamphetamine seizures totaled 21,935 pounds, up by 118%, with cocaine seizures jumping 40% to 8,240 pounds. 

Authorities seized 1,543 pounds of fentanyl, a 59% jump from October and the “highest monthly total since last October,” CBP said. 

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