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The U.S. Coast Guard seized more than 4,500 pounds of cocaine worth nearly $34 million what officials described as a suspected “narco-terrorist” vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Easter Sunday, according to DHS.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Coast Guard cutter Escanaba was alerted by a maritime patrol aircraft that the crew of a suspected narco-terrorist vessel was throwing contraband overboard.
The Coast Guard deployed an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew to investigate the vessel, which was operating off the coast of Manta, Ecuador.
DHS said the Escanaba crew deployed a cutter pursuit boat and recovered more than 4,510 pounds of cocaine.
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DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the recovery was part of Operation Pacific Viper, a Coast Guard counter-drug operation launched in August 2025 in the Eastern Pacific.
“Operation Pacific Viper plays a central part of President Trump’s fight against the cartels at sea, cutting off their ability to make money by trafficking their poison into our country,” Mullin said in a statement. “This operation has already seized over 215,000 pounds of cocaine and has arrested over 160 suspected narco-traffickers.”
He added, “The brave men and women of the Coast Guard are saving American lives by keeping these deadly drugs out of our communities and off our streets.”
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DHS said the Coast Guard’s efforts to disrupt drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific are a key part of the Trump administration’s initiative to combat narco-terrorism and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.
Through Operation Pacific Viper, the Coast Guard has seized more than 215,000 pounds of cocaine and apprehended more than 160 suspected narco-traffickers, according to DHS.
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According to DHS, the operation included the Coast Guard’s largest drug seizure in its history, when it recovered more than 76,000 pounds of illegal drugs in August 2025, valued at $473 million. The total reflects multiple interdictions combined into a single offload.
The Coast Guard also seized nearly 50,000 pounds of illicit drugs in November 2025, valued at $362 million — one of the largest totals attributed to a Coast Guard cutter from multiple interdictions, according to DHS.
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