The U.S. Coast Guard announced on Tuesday that it has seized over 150,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since starting Operation Pacific Viper in early August. This operation is one of the most successful anti-drug campaigns in recent times.
This amount of cocaine equates to more than 57 million potentially deadly doses, based on the fact that just 1.2 grams can be fatal. These seizures have prevented criminal groups from making over $1.1 billion in illegal profits.
Kristi Noem, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, remarked that “Operation Pacific Viper has become an essential tool in our fight against drug traffickers and cartels in Latin America. It clearly shows that we will interrupt, break apart, and eliminate their dangerous operations whenever we detect them.”
The operation has led to several record-breaking seizures. For example, on December 2, the Coast Guard Cutter Munro seized over 20,000 pounds of cocaine in one action, which was the largest at-sea seizure since March 2007. Meanwhile, the crew of Coast Guard Cutter James carried out four major seizures in just 10 days in November, totaling 19,819 pounds of cocaine.
In November, Coast Guard Cutter Stone made history by offloading about 49,010 pounds of illicit drugs, worth over $362 million, at Port Everglades. This was the largest single-patrol seizure by any Coast Guard cutter.
“This achievement shows the dedication and hard work of our crews,” said Admiral Kevin Lunday, the acting commandant of the Coast Guard. “When we say we own the sea, it reflects our ongoing efforts to secure maritime areas and disrupt the criminal networks that endanger our communities.”
The Coast Guard’s law enforcement strategy is very different from a military campaign that has faced significant criticism. Since September, President Trump's Department of Defense has carried out at least 23 airstrikes against suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, leading to over 87 deaths.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth defended a controversial airstrike from September 2 at the Reagan National Defense Forum, brushing off criticism regarding a second strike on two survivors. “I fully support that strike. I would have made the same decision,” he stated.
The Defense Department’s Law of War Manual prohibits attacks on incapacitated or shipwrecked combatants who are no longer a threat and do not try to escape. However, reports of this attack have raised concerns that U.S. forces might have committed a war crime.
These two campaigns illustrate different methods in the fight against drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere. The Coast Guard focuses on traditional law enforcement and continues to achieve record successes, while the Department of Defense has opted for lethal military actions that have drawn criticism from international human rights groups, U.S. allies, and Congress members.
Coast Guard operations in the Eastern Pacific are conducted under the authority of the Coast Guard’s Southwest District, based in Alameda, California. Detecting and monitoring these activities involves coordination with the U.S. Southern Command’s Joint Interagency Task Force-South, located in Key West, Florida.
About 80% of all narcotics entering the U.S. are seized at sea, underscoring the vital role of maritime drug interdiction operations.