The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro at its home port in Alameda, Calif., July 16, 2025. (Joel LaVallee/U.S. Coast Guard)
The U.S. Coast Guard has seized more than 150,000 pounds of cocaine off the west coast of North America since early August, the service said Tuesday.
“Operation Pacific Viper” has been directed at drug running in the eastern Pacific Ocean, using Coast Guard sea and air assets from the Southwest District based in Alameda, Calif.
“This milestone is a testament to the vigilance and tenacity of our crews,” said Adm. Kevin Lunday, the Coast Guard’s acting commandant.
The Coast Guard said the operation had accelerated counter-drug operations from illicit suppliers in Central and South America. The service said 80% of all U.S.-bound narcotics seizures occur at sea.
The service cited several of what it said were record-setting interdictions. On Dec. 2, Coast Guard Cutter Munro seized over 20,000 pounds of cocaine, disabling a smuggling vessel with gunfire before seizing its cargo.
“This was the Coast Guard’s largest at-sea interdiction since March 2007,” the service said in a statement.
The Coast Guard Cutter James executed four significant seizures over 10 days in November, netting 19,819 pounds of cocaine.
The Coast Guard is the United States’ lead federal agency for maritime drug interdiction within the Department of Homeland Security.
