The U.S. Coast Guard has shattered its own record by seizing 510,000 pounds of cocaine in fiscal year 2025 — the largest amount of the drug confiscated in the service’s history. This figure, three times the annual average, equates to 193 million potentially lethal doses, enough to threaten the safety of over half the U.S. population, according to the Coast Guard.
The surge in drug seizures marks part of President Donald Trump’s broader campaign to crack down on drug cartels. The Coast Guard has deployed a series of key initiatives, including Operation Pacific Viper, a coordinated effort with the Navy to combat the influx of illegal drugs into the U.S. In August, the service launched this operation in response to the growing threat of drug smuggling, particularly in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. As of October, the Coast Guard reported it had confiscated 100,000 pounds of cocaine since August under Operation Pacific Viper, averaging 1,600 pounds of cocaine daily.
In tandem with these efforts, the Coast Guard has also intensified its operations along Texas’ Rio Grande River. As part of Operation River Wall, the service is sending additional response boats, shallow watercraft, command and control assets, and tactical teams to the border as part of a “surge operation” aimed at strengthening border security and reducing drug flow into the country. The Trump administration has prioritized this militarized approach, designating drug cartels like Tren de Aragua and Sinaloa as foreign terrorist organizations in February and asserting a non-international armed conflict with smugglers.
Despite the apparent success of these military operations, they have drawn significant legal and political scrutiny. Lawmakers, including Senators Adam Schiff, Tim Kaine, and Rand Paul, have raised concerns over the legality of the Coast Guard’s actions, particularly the strikes conducted against drug-smuggling vessels off the coast of Venezuela and in the Eastern Pacific. In response, they introduced a war powers resolution to prohibit U.S. armed forces from engaging in