The U.S. Coast Guard confiscated over 4,500 pounds of cocaine worth nearly $34 million from a suspected narco-terrorist vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Easter Sunday, officials said.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a maritime patrol aircraft notified the Coast Guard cutter Escanaba of a suspected narco-terrorist vessel’s crew dumping contraband overboard.
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The Coast Guard deployed an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew to inspect the vessel, which was operating off the coast of Manta, Ecuador.
The DHS stated the Escanaba crew used a cutter chase boat to retrieve more than 4,510 pounds of cocaine.
DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated that the recovery was part of Operation Pacific Viper, a Coast Guard counter-drug operation initiated in August 2025 in the Eastern Pacific. “Operation Pacific Viper is a critical component of President Trump’s fight against drug cartels at sea, cutting off their ability to profit by trafficking their poison into our country,” Mullin said in a statement. “This operation has already confiscated over 215,000 pounds of cocaine and apprehended over 160 alleged drug traffickers.”
He also stated, “The brave men and women of the Coast Guard are saving American lives by keeping these deadly drugs out of our communities and off our streets.”
DHS stated that the Coast Guard’s operations to disrupt drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific are a critical component of the Trump administration’s mission to combat narco-terrorism and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.
During Operation Pacific Viper, the Coast Guard confiscated about 215,000 pounds of cocaine and captured over 160 alleged narcotraffickers.
According to DHS, the operation involved the Coast Guard’s largest narcotics seizure in history, with more than 76,000 pounds of illegal drugs captured in August 2025 and valued at $473 million.
In November 2025, the Coast Guard recovered nearly 50,000 pounds of illicit drugs worth $362 million, the highest amount of cocaine ever seized by a single Coast Guard cutter.
