How much cocaine has been seized by the us coast guard in 2025
Executive summary
The U.S. Coast Guard reports a historic cocaine haul in fiscal year 2025: nearly 510,000 pounds (about 231,000 kilograms) seized across the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean, driven in part by Operation Pacific Viper which accounted for more than 100,000 pounds since August and many large single-vessel hauls including one of over 20,000 pounds [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. What the Coast Guard is saying — record-breaking totals
The Coast Guard publicly announced that in FY2025 it seized nearly 510,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean, calling it the largest total in Service history and roughly three times its annual average [1] [5]. Department of Homeland Security releases and Coast Guard reporting highlight multiple large offloads — for example, Cutter Hamilton’s August offload of more than 76,000 pounds and other big interdictions credited to Operation Pacific Viper [6] [2].
2. How Operation Pacific Viper changed the numbers
DHS and Coast Guard materials attribute much of the FY25 surge to Operation Pacific Viper, a focused surge of cutters, helicopters and partner assets in the Eastern Pacific launched in August; DHS said the operation averaged about 1,600 pounds interdicted per day and had seized more than 100,000 pounds by mid‑October [2] [6]. The operation’s tactics — expanded patrols, HITRON helicopter interdictions and coordinated offloads — are repeatedly cited as central to the uptick [6] [7].
3. Big single-vessel hauls and tactical highlights
Several high-profile interceptions supplied headline figures: the cutter Munro seized over 20,000 pounds in one at-sea interdiction — the largest at-sea single-vessel seizure in nearly two decades — and multiple cutters reported tens of thousands of pounds seized on individual deployments [3] [8] [6]. The Hamilton offload alone included roughly 61,740 pounds of cocaine and contributed materially to the FY25 total [6].
4. Cross-checks, unit conversions and corroboration
Different outlets and government releases report the same historic scale in slightly different terms: nearly 510,000 pounds (Coast Guard press release) is reported as about 231,000 kilograms in at least one news story, which is consistent with the pound‑to‑kilogram conversion cited by reporters [1] [4]. Multiple independent news outlets (CBS, Newsweek, Military.com) and DHS/USCG press releases converge on the narrative of unprecedented FY25 seizures [3] [9] [10].
5. What these numbers mean — doses, value and context offered by sources
News and agency reporting translate the total into broader impacts: Marine Insight and others cite a Coast Guard valuation of seized drugs at roughly $3.8 billion and an estimate of hundreds of millions of potentially lethal doses removed from circulation, figures that the Coast Guard and allied commentators use to emphasize operational success [5] [11]. DHS statements highlight interdictions aimed at cutting supply before drugs reach U.S. shores [2].
6. Competing interpretations and political framing
Reporting shows competing narratives: the Coast Guard and DHS frame FY25 as operational success and a sign of pressure on trafficking networks [1] [2]. At the same time, some news pieces and analysts note the seizures amid broader political debates — including criticism of accompanying military actions and questions about whether interdiction alone reduces domestic drug availability — signaling that the announcement serves both operational and political messaging purposes [11] [12].
7. Limits of the available reporting
Available sources do not provide a definitive, independently audited breakdown of every seizure by date, location and chain of custody; they rely largely on USCG/DHS tallies and selective media reporting of high‑profile interdictions [1] [2]. Sources do not offer long‑term outcomes data (e.g., downstream market prices, user harms prevented) that would show whether higher seizures translate into sustained reductions in trafficking or consumption (not found in current reporting).
8. Bottom line for the original query
Answering “how much cocaine has been seized by the U.S. Coast Guard in 2025”: authoritative Coast Guard and DHS statements report nearly 510,000 pounds seized in fiscal year 2025 across the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean, with Operation Pacific Viper contributing more than 100,000 pounds since August and several single interdictions exceeding 20,000 pounds [1] [2] [3].