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WATCH: Coast Guard seizes cocaine, suspected narco-terrorists in Pacific Viper raid
By Diana Stancy
Published September 18, 2025
FIRST ON FOX: The U.S. Coast Guard has seized more than 75,000 pounds of cocaine and apprehended nearly 60 suspected narco-terrorists and drug smugglers since launching Operation Pacific Viper in August, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
Operation Pacific Viper is a joint effort between the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy aimed at countering the influx of illegal drugs to the U.S. as part of President Donald Trump’s larger effort to crack down on drug cartels.
Video footage shared with Fox News Digital depicts the Coast Guard cutter Seneca, which is part of Operation Pacific Viper, completing a drug interdiction Sept. 10 northeast of the Galápagos Islands, which resulted in the seizure of 5,500 pounds of cocaine from a low-profile vessel.
COAST GUARD BURNS, SINKS SUSPECTED 'DRUG BOAT,' APPREHENDS 7 ALLEGED DRUG SMUGGLERS: VIDEO
Operation Pacific Viper also was responsible for conducting the two strikes against alleged drug-laden vessels from Venezuela. The first strike took out 11 suspected Tren de Aragua (TdA) narco-terrorists, while the second strike took out three individuals.
A second kinetic strike targets Venezuelan cartels as the Trump administration cracks down on drug flow to the U.S. (Trump/Truth Social)
"You had massive amounts of drugs," Trump told reporters Sept. 3 after the first strike. "We have tapes of them speaking. It was massive amounts of drugs coming into our country to kill a lot of people. And, everybody fully understands that fact. You see it, you see the bags of drugs all over the boat, and they were hit. Obviously, they won't be doing it again. And I think a lot of other people won't be doing it again. When they watch that tape, they're going to say, let's not do this. We have to protect our country and we're going to. Venezuela has been a very bad actor."
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In August, Trump approved sending several U.S. Navy guided missile destroyers to bolster the administration’s counter-narcotics efforts in the region.
The USS Gravely and several other destroyers have been deployed to U.S. Southern Command as the Trump administration takes on drug cartels and President Nicolás Maduro. (Getty Images)
After Trump's dispatched the destroyers to U.S. Southern Command, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said his country was prepared to respond to any attacks, adding that the move amounted to "an extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat."
Following the second strike, Maduro said the incident is part of a larger effort "to intimidate and seek regime change" in Venezuela. The Trump administration has said it does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state, and rather, views him as a leader of a drug cartel.
TRUMP’S STRIKE ON CARTEL VESSEL OFF VENEZUELA SENDS WARNING TO MADURO: ‘NO SANCTUARY’
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro in a military vehicle during celebrations for Independence Day, in Caracas, July 5, 2025. (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images)
"What were they looking for? Tuna? What were they looking for? A kilo of snapper? Who gave the order in Washington for a missile destroyer to send 18 armed Marines to raid a tuna fishing vessel?" Maduro told reporters Monday. "They were looking for a military incident. If the tuna fishing boys had any kind of weapons and used weapons while in Venezuelan jurisdiction, it would have been the military incident that the warmongers, extremists who want a war in the Caribbean, are seeking."
Other actions the Trump administration has taken to ramp up its war on drugs include designating drug cartels like Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa and others as foreign terrorist organizations in February.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watch-coast-guard-seizes-cocaine-suspected-narco-terrorists-pacific-viper-raid