Cartel Boats Sunk, 75,000 Pounds of Cocaine Seized — Americans Say: Keep Striking

The United States Coast Guard announced on Thursday that it had "seized more than 75,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since launching Operation Pacific Viper in early August, averaging over 1,800 pounds interdicted daily." Operation Pacific Viber also led to the apprehension of "59 individuals suspected of narco-trafficking." 

CARTEL CRACKDOWN.

Operation Pacific Viper continues @USCG’s efforts to protect the Homeland, counter narco-terrorism and disrupt the Transnational Criminal Organizations and cartels seeking to produce and traffic illicit drugs into the United States. pic.twitter.com/OpI01rTOuh

— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) September 18, 2025

Here's more about the operation: 

Through Operation Pacific Viper, the Coast Guard is accelerating counter-drug operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, where significant transport of illicit narcotics continues from South America. In coordination with international and interagency partners, the Coast Guard is surging additional assets — cutters, aircraft and tactical teams — to interdict, seize and disrupt transshipments of cocaine and other bulk illicit drugs. Operation Pacific Viper continues the Coast Guard’s efforts to protect the Homeland, counter narco-terrorism and disrupt Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Transnational Criminal Organizations and cartels seeking to produce and traffic illicit drugs into the United States.  

Of course, we now know that not all of the narco-traffickers in the ocean have been so lucky. Since September 2, the U.S. military has conducted three lethal strikes on drug boats in the Caribbean Sea, all coming from Venezuela.   

The first came on September 2, killing 11 members of Tren de Aragua (TdA), the dangerous prison gang turned terrorist organization that Nicolás Maduro swears no longer exists yet seems to send to the U.S. and elsewhere to take out political opponents and destabilize communities.   

🇺🇸 ON VIDEO: U.S. Military Forces conducted a strike against Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists. The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the U.S. The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. pic.twitter.com/iszHE0ttxQ

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 2, 2025

The second came on September 15, killing three narco-terrorists on board a boat that was reportedly carrying cocaine and fentanyl.   

. @POTUS “This morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a SECOND Kinetic Strike against positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility. The Strike occurred while these confirmed… pic.twitter.com/KQYiEpqsGb

— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) September 15, 2025

President Donald Trump announced a third strike on September 16, but neither he nor the Department of War has released any specific details about how many people may have been on board.  

Both the president and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have said that this will happen again. "What will stop them is when you blow them up, when you get rid of them," Rubio said from a press conference in Mexico City earlier this month.   

Of course, the left doesn't like any of this and has now taken to virtue-signaling for drug dealers and terrorists. Several MSM members suggested that the first boat with the 11 TdA members may have made a U-turn and was on its way back to Venezuela when our military blew it up. 

Rubio said he hadn't heard of such reports, but either way, it didn't matter: "What needs to start happening is some of these boats need to get blown up. Some of these boats need to be not just intercepted but stopped, no matter what direction they plan to head. We can’t live in a world where all of a sudden they do a U-turn and so we can’t touch them anymore. And I’ll tell you something: Since we did that, the number of boats heading towards the United States suddenly dropped dramatically."    

So what does the average, everyday American think of all this? What do U.S. voters think of the Trump administration's efforts to ramp up pressure and force on cartels and these narco-terrorists who are trafficking drugs into our country? As it turns out, most of us like the idea. 

According to Rasmussen Reports, a solid majority — 62% — approve of using the military for this purpose. The Rasmussen survey specifically asked about the initial strike on the TdA boat on September 2, and 42% of participants said they "strongly approved" of the action. 15% said they "strongly disapproved." I'm guessing that 15% probably work for CNN or the New York Times. 

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