U.S. Coast Guard seizes over 4,500 pounds of cocaine off Ecuador coast on Easter
The U.S. Coast Guard seized more than 4,510 pounds of cocaine valued at nearly $34 million from a suspected narco-terrorist vessel off the coast of Manta, Ecuador, on Easter Sunday, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The Coast Guard cutter Escanaba was alerted by a maritime patrol aircraft that the crew of the vessel was throwing contraband overboard. An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter was dispatched to investigate, DHS said. The crew deployed a pursuit boat and recovered the drugs from the vessel.
The operation was part of Operation Pacific Viper, a Coast Guard counter-drug initiative launched in August 2025 in the Eastern Pacific. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin credited the operation with seizing more than 215,000 pounds of cocaine and arresting over 160 suspected traffickers.
“Operation Pacific Viper plays a central part of the fight against cartels at sea, cutting off their ability to make money by trafficking their poison into our country,” Mullin said in a statement. “The brave men and women of the Coast Guard are saving American lives by keeping these deadly drugs out of our communities and off our streets.”
The Coast Guard’s efforts are part of the Trump administration’s broader campaign to combat narco-terrorism and dismantle transnational criminal organizations. In August 2025, the service conducted its largest drug seizure ever, recovering more than 76,000 pounds of illegal drugs valued at $473 million. DHS also reported nearly 50,000 pounds of illicit drugs seized in November 2025, valued at $362 million, in multiple interdictions.
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