U.S. Coast Guard Offloads $61.6 Million in Narcotics After Seizing 3 Boats Near Colombia
Updated
Updated · WPEC · May 14
U.S. Coast Guard Offloads $61.6 Million in Narcotics After Seizing 3 Boats Near Colombia
8 articles · Updated · WPEC · May 14
$61.6 million worth of narcotics—about 8,185 pounds—was set for offload Thursday at Port Everglades after a U.S. Coast Guard operation in the Caribbean.
6,085 pounds of cocaine valued at $45.8 million came from three smuggling boats intercepted May 8 about 90 miles off Cartagena, Colombia, by the cutter Tahoma.
One boat tried to flee, prompting a helicopter crew to disable its engines with aerial use-of-force shots; the suspects jumped overboard and were rescued without injuries.
The Coast Guard said the cocaine equaled roughly 2.3 million potentially deadly doses and credited coordination with Joint Interagency Task Force South and Southeast District watchstanders.
The seizure fits a broader maritime interdiction push: the service says about 80% of U.S.-bound drugs are stopped at sea, and it seized more than 511,000 pounds of cocaine in 2025.
Are record drug busts a sign of victory, or do they reveal a trafficking problem far larger than previously imagined?
Do successful busts in the Caribbean simply push the cocaine highway towards new markets in Asia and Africa?
How will record U.S. seizures impact Colombia’s new strategy of prioritizing rural development over forced coca eradication?