More than 3,400 pounds of cocaine were recently seized by U.S. authorities in two separate operations that involved maritime interdictions of trafficking vessels.
The first seizure involved the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and its partners taking custody of around 1,418 pounds (643.3 kilograms) of cocaine last week as part of a maritime interdiction operation in the southeast of Puerto Rico, the agency said in a statement Monday.
“On April 28, an Air and Marine Operations (AMO) Multi-Role Enforcement Aircraft identified a vessel of interest approximately 35 nautical miles southeast of Puerto Rico. The vessel a 30-foot ‘yola’-type boat equipped with two outboard engines was observed carrying multiple fuel containers and suspected contraband,” the DEA said.
“Law enforcement units successfully intercepted the vessel after issuing warning rounds, prompting the operator to stop. Three adult male Venezuelan nationals were taken into custody without further incident.”
A search of the vessel identified several kilogram-sized bricks of cocaine hidden within fuel containers. Authorities sent the narcotics and the boat to the AMO’s Ponce Marine Unit in Puerto Rico for processing.
The operation was carried out by the DEA in cooperation with Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF), which is leading the investigation, and the Customs and Border Protection’s AMO.
HSTF is a government initiative that targets drug trafficking networks and other threats to the United States and its territories. It was set up following President Donald Trump’s Jan. 20, 2025, executive order titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.”
According to the order, HSTF’s objective would be to “end the presence of criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations throughout the United States, dismantle cross-border human smuggling and trafficking networks, end the scourge of human smuggling and trafficking.”
HSTF directs the “full might” of the U.S. law enforcement in cracking down against such threats that have fueled instability within America’s borders, the DEA statement said.
“This operation highlights the precision, coordination, and relentless commitment of our HSTF partners working to dismantle transnational criminal organizations before they reach our communities,” DEA Caribbean Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Mayer said.
“Through the strength of unified enforcement, we are denying traffickers access to Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland while holding those responsible fully accountable.”
The second seizure was announced by the Joint Interagency Task Force South in a Wednesday post on X, which said that it had taken custody of 904 kilograms (approximately 1,992 pounds) of cocaine together with Customs and Border Protection’s AMO and Mexican authorities.
Combined, the two operations have led to the seizure of 3,410 pounds of cocaine.
Drug Boat Strikes
The cocaine seizures come amid ongoing U.S. military strikes against vessels involved in narcotics trafficking.
This week, the U.S. Southern Command announced it conducted two strikes against drug vessels in separate incidents, one in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and another in the Caribbean.
U.S. military forces on Tuesday conducted a lethal strike against a vessel operated by designated terrorist organizations involved in narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific, killing three people, according to U.S. Southern Command.
This strike followed another on Monday, with the U.S. military targeting a vessel also said to be operated by designated terrorist organizations engaged in narco-trafficking operations, this time in the Caribbean along known narco-trafficking routes.
The U.S. Naval Institute has reported that at least 186 people tied to narco-terrorist networks have been killed—including some missing, presumed dead—in the more than 50 strikes on suspected drug vessels by U.S. forces under Operation Southern Spear. The U.S. operations against the narco-terrorist networks began on Sept. 1, 2025.
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