The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a vessel carrying more than 20,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific, completing the largest drug seizure to date by a national security cutter from a high-speed “go-fast” boat.
Video footage shared by the Department of Homeland Security shows Coast Guard personnel, including a sniper from the Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON), using disabling fire against a go-fast vessel during the mission, which was part of Operation Pacific Viper.
Newsweek has contacted the Coast Guard and the Pentagon for comment via email outside office hours.
Why It Matters
The operation shows both the scale of U.S. efforts to disrupt international drug trafficking and the growing use of military force in maritime interdictions. Ongoing strikes against suspected drug vessels, including follow-up attacks on survivors, have raised legal and ethical questions.
What To Know
The seized cocaine is estimated to represent more than 7.5 million potentially lethal doses, Fox News reported.
Operation Pacific Viper, a joint initiative launched in August between the Coast Guard and Navy, aims to disrupt the flow of illegal drugs toward the United States. Since the operation began, authorities report having seized around 100,000 pounds of cocaine in the eastern Pacific.
Go-fast vessels, which are commonly used to transport drugs in the Caribbean and Pacific regions, are designed for speed and evasion. HITRON snipers play a key role in disabling these vessels, making it possible for Coast Guard teams to safely recover contraband without putting personnel at unnecessary risk.
In fiscal year 2025, the Coast Guard reported seizing nearly 510,000 pounds of cocaine, the largest total in the service’s history. These figures are more than three times the agency’s annual average. The administration has also designated several drug cartel groups, including Tren de Aragua and Sinaloa, as foreign terrorist organizations.
Since September, at least 22 operations have targeted suspected drug vessels in Latin American waters. While some lawmakers have questioned the legal authority for these operations, the administration maintains it is within its rights to carry out such interdictions.
On Wednesday, Senate Democrats joined Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) in introducing a war powers resolution aimed at restricting the U.S. military from engaging in hostilities with Venezuela without congressional approval.
The resolution, also sponsored by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), directs the president to refrain from using armed forces in such operations “unless specifically authorized by a declaration of war or a specific authorization for the use of military force.”
Since September, U.S. operations targeting suspected drug smuggling vessels have reportedly resulted in more than 80 deaths.
Questions have arisen over the legality of a U.S. military strike in September after a follow-up attack targeted survivors of an initial boat strike. Reports indicate that two people who survived the first strike attempted to climb back onto the vessel before it was hit a second time.
U.S. officials have stated the survivors were considered a legitimate target because the boat was still believed to contain drugs.
On Thursday evening, the U.S. military announced on X that a strike in the eastern Pacific Ocean had resulted in four deaths, conducted under the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
What People Are Saying
Hegseth said Tuesday: “We’ve only just begun striking narco-boats and putting narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean because they’ve been poisoning the American people.”
Former Special Counsel Department of Defense Ryan Goodman on X: “This collapses the one ‘argument’ Hegseth had against it being war crime: “Two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat .. DID NOT APPEAR TO HAVE RADIO OR OTHER COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES, the top military official overseeing the strike told lawmakers.”
The Department of Homeland Security wrote in a post on X: “Operation Pacific Viper ELIMINATES narco-terrorists in the Eastern Pacific.”
What Happens Next
The Senate Armed Services Committee is reviewing the strikes carried out on suspected drug smugglers in the Caribbean.
