The U.S. Coast Guard seized more than 25,000 pounds of cocaine in less than a week as the Trump administration continues expanding maritime operations targeting drug smugglers and transnational criminal organizations.
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Coast Guard crews carried out three interdictions in the eastern Pacific Ocean, seizing a combined 25,256 pounds of cocaine. The operations were conducted under Operation Pacific Viper, an international drug interdiction effort launched in August 2025 as part of the administration’s broader border security strategy.
Since the operation began, Coast Guard crews have seized more than 262,000 pounds of cocaine in the eastern Pacific.
“We own the sea, and Operation Pacific Viper is proving that every day,” Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said. “Coast Guard crews are taking the fight to narco-terrorists in the maritime domain, denying them the routes they rely on to move drugs, money and violence, while protecting the homeland and disrupting transnational criminal organizations far from U.S. shores.”
On Sept. 11, a maritime patrol aircraft spotted a suspected smuggling vessel south of Costa Rica. The Coast Guard Cutter Tampa deployed a boat and helicopter to intercept it. After warning shots were fired, Coast Guard personnel boarded the vessel and discovered suspected cocaine.
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Crews seized more than 6,800 pounds of cocaine and detained three suspected smugglers.
Four days later, Tampa crews intercepted two suspected drug-smuggling vessels south of Panama, seizing more than 15,000 pounds of cocaine and taking six suspected smugglers aboard. Another interdiction south of Panama the following day resulted in the seizure of 3,456 pounds.
The Department of Homeland Security estimates a lethal dose of cocaine at 1.2 grams. Using that figure, the cocaine seized during the three interdictions amounted to approximately 9.5 million potentially lethal doses.
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