Cartel smugglers trying to move drugs across the Caribbean have had a bad month at the hands of the US Coast Guard & US Navy. They’ve seized $65.4 million worth of dope in two large recent busts.
The largest load of intercepted drugs - 8,185 Ibs of cocaine worth more than $61.6 million - was unloaded under heavy guard by the crew of the US Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma Thursday at Port Everglades, Florida.
This seizure occurred after the crew of the Tahoma intercepted three cartel smuggling vessels on May 8, 2026, in the Caribbean, 90 miles off Cartagena, Colombia.
Two of the boats followed Coast Guard commands to stop and be boarded, but the third unwisely tried to make a run for it.
A Coast Guard gunner aboard a helicopter fired warning shots across the vessel’s bow, and then shot out its outboard motors when it failed to yield. No one aboard the boat was injured during the confrontation.
The second drug seizure took place days earlier in the Caribbean off Mole Saint-Nicolas, Haiti. The Coast Guard Cutter Venturous and a Navy helicopter from the USS Billings intercepted a smuggling boat carrying 3,200 pounds of marijuana worth $3.8 million.
The smuggler, who was found to be a Haitian citizen, as well as his drug load, was turned over to Haitian authorities, as the seizure had occurred in Haitian waters with the consent of that country’s government.
Are you surprised that some smugglers try to outrun the Coast Guard despite shots being fired across their bow?
Share your thoughts in the comments to this story!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
Jack,
I am so glad that the Coast Guard and our Navy have intercepting those drugs. Saying that, it's very sad that there are people waiting for those drugs.