A US vessel intercepted three drug-smuggling boats at the same time in the Caribbean Sea and seized over three tonnes of cocaine in an operation officials described as a “triple threat” bust on Thursday (local time).
CBS News, citing a statement from the Coast Guard, said the crew of the Tahoma, a 270-foot cutter, made the interceptions roughly 90 miles off the coast of Cartagena, . To catch all three alleged drug boats at once, the Tahoma’s crew launched two small boats and deployed a helicopter.
Sharing an update on X, the US Coast Guard wrote, “The interdiction required disabling fire after warning shots proved ineffective. Tahoma’s crew apprehended 9 suspected drug smugglers following the operation, then sank the vessels as hazards to navigation.”
How the alleged smugglers were intercepted
The Coast Guard said that the alleged smugglers aboard the boat chased by the helicopter were “non-compliant.” To stop the vessel, the Coast Guard aircrew used “aerial use of force tactics,” which included precision sniper fire aimed at the boat’s engines. Later, the suspects jumped overboard and were rescued by the Coast Guard. However, no injuries were reported.
A video released by the US Coast Guard showed a member of the aircrew firing gunshots in front of the vessel, then throwing rescue floats to the alleged smugglers after they jumped overboard.
Further, the alleged smugglers in the other two boats only stopped when they were ordered to do so by Coast Guard crew members in small boats.
According to the report, the Coast Guard did not specify how many people were taken into custody during the operation or whether the alleged aboard the three boats were working together.
US Coast Guard seizes 6,085 pounds of cocaine
The Coast Guard said that the crew of the Tahoma seized 6,085 pounds of cocaine from the three vessels. The drugs are reportedly valued at around $45 million and will be offloaded by the ship’s crew at Port Everglades in .
Photos released by the Coast Guard showed the three suspected drug-smuggling boats on fire. A Coast Guard spokesperson previously told CBS News that crews typically detain suspects, remove narcotics from intercepted vessels, and then destroy the boats to prevent them from becoming hazards to other marine traffic.
The Coast Guard added that at least 80 per cent of narcotics seized while being transported to the US are typically found at sea. In 2025, the agency seized over 511,000 pounds of .
Tackling drug traffic top priority
of Trump administration
In a separate incident reported earlier in April, the carried out strikes on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people, the BBC reported, citing the US Southern Command.
US President ‘s administration has identified restricting the flow of drugs into the US as one of its top priorities. Since September last year, deadly strikes targeting suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean have reportedly killed nearly 200 people.
Under the Trump administration, forces have launched dozens of strikes on boats they say are part of a large-scale operation to ferry drugs into the US.
The administration has also designated several drug cartels and transnational gangs as terrorist organisations. The Trump administration has maintained that the killings are lawful. In a statement submitted to Congress last year, the White House said Trump had “determined” that the was engaged in a formal armed conflict with drug cartels and that crews operating drug-smuggling boats were considered “combatants.”
