Image Credit: Joe Raedle / employee / Getty Images 
The US Coast Guard has seized more than 469,000 pounds of cocaine since President Trump returned to office on 20 January 2025. At a lethal dose of 1.2g, that’s enough to kill 177 million Americans, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The Coast Guard has launched multiple anti-drug operations under the second Trump administration. According to the DHS, 80% of all drugs reach the US via the sea.
In August, the Coast Guard launched Operation Pacific Viper, with the aim of disrupting cartel smuggling routes, for drugs and people, into the US.
In a recent statement, the Coast Guard said it had seized more than 150,000 pounds of cocaine through the operation—enough to create 57 million potentially lethal doses.
“Operation Pacific Viper has proven to be a crucial weapon in the fight against foreign drug traffickers and cartels in Latin America and has sent a clear message that we will disrupt, dismantle, and destroy their deadly business exploits wherever we find them,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said at the time.
“In cutting off the flow of these deadly drugs, the Coast Guard is saving countless American lives and delivering on President Trump’s promise to Make America Safe Again and reestablish our maritime dominance.”
The largest single haul of drugs—49,010 pounds—was scored by the USCGC Stone, the biggest and most technologically advanced ship in the US Coast Guard.
Pacific Viper was followed in October by Operation River Wall, whose purpose was to secure the 260 miles of the Rio Grande River that comprise part of the US southern border.
In recent months, the US military has targeted drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific for lethal kinetic strikes.
The current death toll from the strikes stands at around 110 since September. At least 20 boats, claimed to be carrying drugs bound for the US, have been hit.
