Coast Guard Cutter “Escanaba” Seizes More than $33 Million Worth of Cocaine in a Single Interdiction

WASHINGTON - The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) Escanaba seized 4,510 pounds of cocaine, valued at $33.9 million, during a routine patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean on Easter Sunday.

A U.S. maritime patrol aircraft notified Escanaba that a crew on a suspected narco-terrorist vessel was throwing contraband overboard. Escanaba launched its MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew to investigate and marked the suspected drugs off the coast of Manta, Ecuador.

Escanaba's crew deployed its over-the-horizon cutter pursuit boat crew and relaunched the helicopter aircrew to recover the contraband. In total, the Escanaba boat crew seized over 4,510 pounds of cocaine and took it back to the cutter.

"Operation Pacific Viper plays a central part of President Trump's fight against the cartels at sea, cutting off their ability to make money by trafficking their poison into our country," said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. "This operation has already seized over 215,000 pounds of cocaine and has arrested over 160 suspected narco-traffickers. 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."

Launched in August of 2025, Operation Pacific Viper has accelerated counter-drug operations in the Eastern Pacific, a popular route for drug-smuggling from Latin America. The Coast Guard has surged cutters, aircraft, and tactical teams to interdict, seize, and disrupt the flow of cocaine and other illicit drugs. These efforts are a critical part of the Trump administration's strategy to fight narco-terrorism and dismantle transnational criminal organizations.

In February, the Coast Guard hit a major milestone by seizing 200,000 pounds of cocaine since this operation began. Overall, the Coast Guard has seized over 215,000 pounds of cocaine and apprehended 160 suspected narco-traffickers through Operation Pacific Viper.

This operation led to the Coast Guard's largest-ever drug offload in history in August of 2025, when USCGC Hamilton offloaded over 76,000 pounds of illegal drugs, valued at $473 million. Pacific Viper also saw the largest amount of cocaine seized by a single cutter in one patrol in the Coast Guard's history, when USCGC Stone offloaded over 49,000 pounds of illicit narcotics, valued at $362 million, in November of 2025.

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