Coast Guard stops boats holding 3 tons of cocaine, opens fire on one
Coast Guard announces largest cocaine seizure in agency history 02:38
The crew of a U.S. Coast Guard ship intercepted three boats carrying illegal drugs simultaneously in the Caribbean Sea, seizing more than three tons of cocaine and stopping what the agency called a “triple threat,” officials said Thursday.
The crew of Tahoma, a 270-foot cutter, was intercepted by the Coast Guard about 90 miles off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia. he said in a press release. The Tahoma crew launched two small boats and deployed a helicopter to capture three alleged drug boats at once.
The Coast Guard said the alleged smugglers on the boat the helicopter was following were “incompatible.” Coast Guard aircrews used “airborne force tactics, including precision sniper fire against the engines” to stop the boat. The alleged smugglers jumped overboard and were rescued by the Coast Guard with no injuries reported.
Video Shared by Coast Guard It showed that a member of the aircraft crew set fire to the area in front of the ship with a gun, and then threw rescue vehicles at the alleged smugglers who jumped into the sea.
Non-stop operations to stop narco-terrorism.@USCGSoutheast CGC Tahoma crew and a helicopter seized approximately 6,085 pounds of cocaine worth approximately $45.8 million after intercepting three ships off the coast of Colombia on Saturday. Ban is necessary… pic.twitter.com/5unto8ycBr
— US Coast Guard (@USCG) May 14, 2026
The alleged smugglers on the other two boats were stopped upon the instructions of the Coast Guard teams on the small boats.
The Coast Guard did not disclose how many people were detained during the operation or whether the alleged smugglers on the three boats were working together.
Tahoma crew seized 6,085 pounds of cocaine from three ships, authorities said. The drugs are worth about $45 million and will be unloaded by the ship’s crew at Port Everglades in Florida, the agency said.
Photos shared by the Coast Guard show three boats allegedly containing drugs were set on fire. Coast Guard spokesman I previously told CBS News When the agency teams encounter a ship suspected of smuggling, they detain the alleged smugglers so that they do not pose a threat to other maritime traffic, eliminate the drugs, and then sink the boat.
Three suspected drug smuggling boats are set on fire, with the Coast Guard cutter Tahoma in the background. / Credit: US Coast Guard
The Coast Guard said about 80 percent of the drugs seized while being transported to the United States were found at sea. The agency seized over 511,000 pounds of cocaine in 2025.
The Trump administration has said stopping the flow of drugs into the United States is one of its top priorities. Fatal attacks Alleged drug ship It has killed nearly 200 people in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean since last September. The administration also criminalized drug cartels and transnational gangs. terrorist organizations.
