The Coast Guard seized a record 76,000 pounds of drugs this summer off Central and South America
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MIAMI (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard seized more than 75,000 pounds (34,000 kilograms) of illegal drugs this summer from boats far out to sea in the Pacific and Caribbean, which the service called its largest-ever haul worth nearly half a billion dollars.
The Coast Guard worked with the Department of Defense on these seizures, catching 19 drug-carrying vessels off the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, the coast of Venezuela, Mexico, the Dominican Republican, Jamaica and Aruba, the Coast Guard said.
Some of the vessels were spotted by maritime patrol aircraft before being intercepted and searched by boarding teams. The Coast Guard said 34 suspected drug traffickers were detained, but authorities didn’t specify the total number of suspects detained from all of the interdictions.
The Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton offloaded the combined 76,140 pounds (34,500 kilograms) of drugs at Port Everglades, Florida, on Monday, including about 61,740 pounds (28,000 kilograms) of cocaine and about 14,400 pounds (6,500 kilograms) of marijuana seized by multiple Coast Guard vessels.
The agency estimated the drugs’ street value at around $473 million.
The Trump administration has promised to overhaul the Coast Guard, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, increasing the service’s fleet and boosting its military workforce by at least 15,000 by the end of fiscal year 2028. The Coast Guard has more than 43,000 active duty members, 8,000 reservists, and 30,000 auxiliary members.
