The Coast Guard’s seizures of cocaine from drug smugglers caught at sea hit an all-time high in fiscal year 2025, most of which occurred during the Trump administration.
The Department of Homeland Security military branch told the Washington Examiner on Thursday that ships patrolling the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific Ocean seized $3.8 billion worth of cocaine between October 2024 and September 2025.
A total of 510,000 pounds of cocaine was prevented from being trafficked by sea to the United States, the highest annual total on record, according to the Coast Guard.
The record-high finish comes after the Trump administration declared a new war on drugs upon taking office in January.
It also comes amid the Trump administration’s aggressive actions striking suspected narco-terrorists moving drugs from off the northern coast of South America to the U.S.
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) said that the Department of War’s recent 16th strike against a boat of suspected drug smugglers was a step in the right direction, in addition to the Coast Guard’s amplified seizures.
“About 25,000 Americans die from cocaine deaths alone [every year], and that probably underestimates the other crime and murders going on because of cartels and drugs,” Daines told Fox Business Network on Thursday. “If you think about how to win a fight, how to win a war, you can’t do it simply by playing defense. You’ve got to play offense. And I applaud President Trump’s aggressive actions, taking out these boats, taking out these narco-terrorists. That is protecting our country and saving lives.”
Catching drugs before they reach the U.S. puts less pressure on customs officers from Customs and Border Protection, another DHS agency, to find them while inspecting all incoming people, goods, and vehicles at the ports of entry.
The Coast Guard’s authority starts 12 miles out from the U.S. coast, and it has the authority to patrol international waters, according to Jamie Mortensen of the radar company SpotterRF.
Earlier this year, the Coast Guard surged more crew and ships to international waters where drug smugglers move narcotics, typically from South America to the U.S.
In President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, the Coast Guard tripled its forces operating near the southern border.
In that time, Coast Guard cutters returning from deployments offloaded larger loads of cocaine than ever before. Historical records of $50 million to a few hundred million dollars’ worth of cocaine were smashed.
In late March, the Coast Guard announced a $517 million seizure of illicit drugs, mostly cocaine, while deployed off the coast of Mexico, Central America, and South America. During the deployment, the Coast Guard intercepted 14 smuggling boats.
The Coast Guard is also boosting its personnel. The military branch has been bogged down by recruitment struggles since 2007. Last year was the first time in 17 years that it met all of its accession goals for active-duty, reserve, enlisted, and officer positions.
According to Lt. Cmdr. Steve Roth, Coast Guard spokesman, this year looks even better.
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“In FY 2025, the Coast Guard expects to assess nearly 700 more active-duty enlisted members than the 4,422 assessed in FY 2024,” Roth wrote in an email.
The Coast Guard stood at 40,763 active-duty members as of late June.