260,000 Pounds of Cocaine Seized Under Operation Pacific Viper

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has seized more than 260,000 pounds of cocaine under Operation Pacific Viper, which was launched in August 2025.

Operation Pacific Viper has accelerated counterdrug operations in the Eastern Pacific, which is a key corridor used for smuggling narcotics from South and Central America. The Coast Guard has deployed aircraft, cutters, and tactical teams, aimed at interdicting and disrupting the flow of illegal narcotics.

The milestone of more than 260,000 pounds of cocaine seized was crossed after USCG Cutter Tampa recently seized more than 25,000 pounds of cocaine over six days in three separate interdictions, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a Sept. 24 statement.

On Sept. 11, Tampa boarded a go-fast vessel that was detected in the Eastern Pacific, seizing more than 6,800 pounds of cocaine and apprehending three suspected smugglers.

Five days later, Cutter Tampa crews interdicted two vessels that were transporting more than 15,000 pounds of cocaine in total. Six suspected smugglers were arrested.

And in the third interdiction a day later, the cutter intercepted a vessel south of Panama, seizing 3,456 pounds of cocaine and apprehending four suspected narco-terrorists.

The three interdictions represented the confiscation of roughly 9.5 million potentially deadly doses. Just 1.2 grams of cocaine is considered a potentially fatal dose.

“Thanks to the hard work of the brave men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard, more than 9 million lethal doses of cocaine will never reach our shores,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in the statement.

“President Trump promised to make America safe again, and stopping these drugs from infecting our communities is exactly how we do it. DHS is committed to keeping our borders secure, on land and at sea.”

In 2025, the Coast Guard intercepted 231 metric tons of drugs in total and stopped 231 narco-terrorists, according to the USCG website.

Washington has faced criticism from the United Nations on the issue. In a Sept. 1 statement, the U. N. Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner said that U.N. experts demanded an end to the fatal encounters.

Since September 2025, U.S. military strikes in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean have killed at least 223 people, according to the statement.

“Drug cartels and gangs are not carrying out armed attacks against the United States, and therefore there is no right of self-defense under Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. Drug trafficking is a law enforcement matter governed by international human rights law on the use of force. Calling it war does not make it one,” the U.N. said.

Each strike carried out against a vessel operated by a designated terror organization is aimed at defending U.S. interests and protecting the country, Wilson said.

“Our operations in the Southcom region are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the Law of Armed Conflict. These actions have also been approved by the best military and civilian lawyers up and down the chain of command,” he added.

There has been a record reduction in illegal maritime activity over the past year following SOUTHCOM’s lethal counternarcotics operations, U.S. officials said. For instance, such activity has dropped by 65 percent in the Western Caribbean and by 60 percent in the Eastern Caribbean.