The United States Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba seized 2,046 kilograms of cocaine valued at $33.9 million while patrolling off the coast of Ecuador in April 2026, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) news release.
A U.S. maritime patrol aircraft notified Escanaba that a crew of a suspected narco-terrorist vessel was throwing contraband overboard. An MH-65 Dolphin, launched from the Escanaba, located the suspected drugs near Manta, Ecuador. The cutter then dispatched its over-the-horizon cutter pursuit vessel to coordinate with the helicopter crew to recover the contraband, the release stated. The Escanaba’s interdiction was part of Operation Pacific Viper, launched in August 2025 to combat cartel drug smuggling from Latin America to North America. “Operation Pacific Viper plays a central part of [U.S. President Donald] Trump’s fight against the cartels at sea, cutting off their ability to make money by trafficking their poison into our country,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. “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.”
Since Pacific Viper’s onset, the Coast Guard has surged cutters, aircraft and tactical teams to interdict, seize and disrupt the flow of cocaine and other illicit drugs. “These efforts are a critical part of the Trump administration’s strategy to fight narco-terrorism and dismantle transnational criminal organizations,” the release stated. In February, the Coast Guard hit a major milestone by seizing about 91,000 kilograms of cocaine in the first six months of the operation. The Coast Guard also has apprehended 160 suspected narco-traffickers through Operation Pacific Viper, the April 9 release said.
Pacific Viper led to the Coast Guard’s largest-ever drug offload in August 2025, when USCGC Hamilton offloaded over 34,473 kilograms of illegal drugs, valued at $473 million. Pacific Viper also saw the largest amount of cocaine seized by a single cutter in one patrol in the Coast Guard’s history, when USCGC Stone offloaded over 22,226 kilograms of illicit narcotics, valued at $362 million, in November 2025, the release stated.