The U.S. Coast Guard says it has seized over 40,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean over the last month as part of boosted counter-drug operations.
More than a dozen interceptions since Aug. 8 led to the drug seizures as well as the apprehension of 36 suspected drug smugglers, the Coast Guard said in a news release Thursday.
The actions took place through Operation Pacific Viper, which the Coast Guard has described as “a surge in forces to the Eastern Pacific to stop the cartels and criminal organizations – cutting off drugs and human smuggling before it reaches American shores.” The Eastern Pacific sees “significant transport” of illicit narcotics from South America, the Coast Guard says.
The federal agency, which is part of the Department of Homeland Security, released multiple images of recent operations. One picture shows crew members keeping watch over a burning vessel that was intercepted in the Eastern Pacific Ocean in mid-August, the Coast Guard says. Officials did not indicate why the boat was on fire.
Counter-drug operations have also been heightened in the Caribbean Sea, where the U.S. military recently carried out a “lethal strike” on a drug-carrying boat hailing from Venezuela, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
Coast Guard interceptions in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea recently resulted in a record cocaine haul that had “enough to fatally overdose the entire population of Florida,” the Coast Guard said. In that haul, the Coast Guard last week offloaded over 38 tons of cocaine and marijuana in Fort Lauderdale — the largest cocaine offload in Coast Guard history, officials said.
The Coast Guard says that with Operation Pacific Viper, it is coordinating with international and interagency partners to have assets like cutters, aircraft and tactical teams disrupt illicit drug shipments.
contributed to this report.
Sarah Lynch Baldwin is a deputy managing editor of CBSNews.com. She helps lead national and breaking news coverage and shapes editorial workflows.
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