Naval operations in the Pacific Ocean this week resulted in massive cocaine seizures totaling more than 10 tons by Mexican and Salvadoran forces, while U.S. military operations against suspected drug smuggling vessels claimed 11 lives across three separate incidents in Latin American waters.
Mexico’s most recent operation occurred Thursday when authorities intercepted a semi-submersible vessel approximately 250 nautical miles south of Manzanillo port, seizing nearly four tons of suspected narcotics and apprehending three individuals aboard the low-profile craft equipped with three visible engines.
Mexican Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch announced on X that this latest bust pushed the week’s total seizures to nearly 10 tons, though specific details about additional operations were not disclosed.
Intelligence cooperation between Mexican authorities and U.S. Northern Command, along with the U.S. Joint Interagency Task Force South, facilitated the successful interdiction, according to Mexican officials.
El Salvador achieved what officials called the nation’s largest drug seizure in history on Sunday, capturing 6.6 tons of cocaine from a 180-foot vessel flying a Tanzanian flag located 380 miles southwest of the Salvadoran coastline. Naval divers discovered 330 cocaine packages concealed within the ship’s ballast compartments, leading to the arrest of 10 individuals from Colombia, Nicaragua, Panama, and Ecuador.
Salvadoran officials displayed the confiscated vessel FMS Eagle at La Union port on Thursday, where more than 200 wrapped drug packages were arranged across the deck for public viewing.
The Trump administration has intensified pressure on Mexico to increase drug interdiction efforts throughout the past year, with President Trump citing fentanyl trafficking as justification for imposing tariffs on Mexican goods.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has adopted a more confrontational approach toward drug cartels compared to her predecessor, including the extradition of dozens of narcotics trafficking suspects to face prosecution in American courts.
However, Sheinbaum has publicly criticized U.S. military strikes against suspected drug-carrying vessels in Caribbean and Pacific waters.
Since the U.S. government initiated operations targeting individuals it labels “narcoterrorists” last September, at least 145 people have died in these military strikes.
This week’s U.S. operations targeted three vessels – two boats in the eastern Pacific carrying four people each, and one Caribbean vessel with three occupants aboard. While the administration released images showing the destruction of these boats, no evidence was provided confirming they contained illegal drugs.
