Coast Guard and DEA Defend Strikes as Record Cocaine Seizures Rise

The U.S. Coast Guard on Wednesday offloaded nearly 50,000 pounds of cocaine — a shipment officials value at more than $360 million — at Port Everglades in southern Florida. Commanders described the seizure as the largest single‑deployment haul by a Coast Guard cutter.

Adm. Nathan Moore, commander of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, said in an interview that the seizure represents unprecedented success for a single cutter. "It's the most cocaine ever seized by a single cutter in one deployment. So business is good," he said.

Officials split on the strikes' impact

Despite a series of U.S. air and missile strikes since September that targeted vessels suspected of ferrying drugs, Moore said the overall flow of cocaine into the hemisphere has not shown "any noticeable difference." He noted that much of the contraband recovered by the cutter Stone was seized in September, October and early November, and that traffickers' routes, tempo and drug purity have not substantially changed.

By contrast, Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole argued the strikes are already disrupting the market. In an interview he said, "You're starting to see the rise in the price of cocaine. Cocaine is getting more expensive — not only in the U.S., but at first stops: Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras and elsewhere in Central America." Cole told officials have observed price increases of roughly 30%–45% per kilogram.

Cole added that rising costs ripple through the smuggling network: "It's now more expensive to recruit boat captains, to purchase engines and to build larger boats for transportation — all due to immense pressure on their logistics."

Why seizures have increased

Moore and other officials credit several factors for the recent surge in interceptions: upgraded cutters such as the Stone, greater integration with U.S. intelligence agencies and the deployment of new autonomous surveillance tools. The U.S. military has carried out at least 21 strikes aimed at suspected drug‑ferrying vessels off the coast of South America since September as part of a broader anti‑drug campaign.

In fiscal year 2025, the Coast Guard reported intercepting about 231,000 kilograms of cocaine — the highest annual haul on record and more than triple the historical yearly average. Moore said he expects seizures to remain high and predicted that 2026 could be even busier.

Broader context and diplomacy

The stepped‑up maritime activity comes amid a larger buildup of U.S. forces in the Caribbean while the administration maintains pressure on Venezuela and its president, Nicolás Maduro, whom officials have accused of involvement in drug trafficking. President Trump said he would not rule out further measures to address the situation.

Some allies have expressed concern about the strikes; reports suggested countries including France, Mexico and Colombia considered curtailing intelligence sharing. Cole rejected the idea that cooperation has broken down, saying intelligence exchanges remain robust and that partner nations share an interest in stemming flows of cocaine, fentanyl and precursor chemicals.

Outlook

Moore acknowledged that some trafficking vessels still evade detection, but emphasized that pushing interdiction efforts farther offshore reduces the volume of drugs that ever approach U.S. shores. "It's a cat‑and‑mouse game," he said. "We have success in one area, they shift tactics…and then we shift to counter that."

Cole defended the multiagency strategy. "We're going to apply every single tool to stop the narcotics from coming into the United States and killing American citizens," he said. "The American people are sick and tired of seeing lives lost to the cartels — we are laser‑focused on protecting our citizens and defending national security."