Coast Guard seizes 4,500 lbs of cocaine worth $34 million off Ecuador coast
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The U.S. Coast Guard seized more than 4,500 pounds of cocaine worth nearly $34 million from a suspected narco-terrorist ship in the Eastern Pacific on Easter Sunday, officials said.
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 ship was throwing contraband overboard.
The Coast Guard deployed the MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew to investigate the vessel operating off the coast of Manta, Ecuador.
Escanaba crew deployed a cutter pursuit boat and collected more than 4,510 pounds of cocaine, DHS said.
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Coast Guard teams captured a suspected narco-terrorist ship and seized thousands of kilos of cocaine, officials said. (Department of Homeland Security)
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the recovery is part of Operation Pacific Viper, the Coast Guard counterdrug operation that launched in the Eastern Pacific in August 2025.
“Operation Pacific Viper plays a central role in President Trump’s fight against offshore cartels, cutting off the cartels’ ability to make money by bringing their poison into our country,” Mullin said in a statement. he said. “Over 215,000 pounds of cocaine has already been seized in this operation and more than 160 suspected drug traffickers have been arrested.”
U.S. Coast Guard teams displayed cocaine seized following an anti-drug operation in the Eastern Pacific, officials said. (Department of Homeland Security)
He added: “The brave men and women of the Coast Guard are saving American lives by keeping these deadly drugs off our communities and off our streets.”
THE VIDEO MAY INCLUDE THE US ATTACK ON A SUSPICIOUS NARCO SHIP IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC, THE COAST GUARD BEGINS TO SEARCH FOR 3 SURVIVORS
The U.S. Coast Guard seized more than 4,500 pounds of cocaine from a suspected narco-terrorist ship in the Eastern Pacific, officials said. (Department of Homeland Security)
DHS said the Coast Guard’s efforts to disrupt drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific are an important part of the Trump administration’s initiative to combat narco-terrorism and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.
The Coast Guard seized more than 215,000 pounds of cocaine and arrested more than 160 suspected drug traffickers through Operation Pacific Viper.
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Authorities said the US Coast Guard seized approximately $34 million worth of cocaine during an operation in the Eastern Pacific. (US Coast Guard)
The operation also included the largest drug seizure in the Coast Guard’s history in August 2025, when it seized more than 76,000 pounds of illegal drugs worth $473 million, according to DHS.
The Coast Guard also seized nearly 50,000 pounds of illegal drugs worth $362 million in November 2025; this is the largest amount of cocaine ever seized by a single Coast Guard cutter.
