OAN Staff Blake Wolf
1:18 PM – Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Attorney General Pam Bondi announced a “major blow” to two Mexican drug cartels after the Coast Guard seized over $500 million in cocaine — amounting to over 45,000 pounds.
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Bondi revealed that the seizure took place on Wednesday, after two Coast Guard cutters intercepted approximately $509 million dollars worth of cocaine from smuggling boats near Ecuador, Peru, and the Galápagos Islands.
“We have saved thousands and thousands of lives as a result of this incredible cooperation,” Bondi stated at Port Everglades in Florida, alongside FBI Director Kash Patel.
Bondi also revealed that the illicit drugs were tied to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and the Sinaloa cartel, noting that 11 individuals were arrested in the operation.
She continued, stating that the Coast Guard utilized “drones, aircraft, and ships to interdict the traffickers” in the operation.
FBI Director Kash Patel also spoke at the press conference. He issued a warning to other foreign drug cartels who continue their ongoing drug smuggling and drug trafficking operations.
“We are going to dismantle the ‘next-man-up’ theory that has been breeding these Mexican cartels for generations,” Patel asserted. “No more.”
The U.S. Coast Guard revealed that their efforts in finding the large stash took around eleven days, describing the process of locating the drug traffickers in the patrol area as “finding a needle in a haystack.”
The interagency effort led by the Coast Guard was also assisted by the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Over 130,073 pounds (59 metric tons) of narcotics have been seized since just February, according to U.S. Coast Guard Vice Adm. Nathan Moore.
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