Coast Guard’s record-breaking cocaine haul in 2025 could have poisoned half the US

WATCH: Coast Guard cutter completes drug interdiction in Operation Pacific Viper

FIRST ON FOX: Coast Guard Cutter Seneca interdicted 5,500 lbs of cocaine northeast of the Galápagos Islands Sept. 10, 2025, as part of Operation Pacific Viper, a Coast Guard and Navy effort to combat illegal drugs entering the U.S. (Credit: DHS)

The Coast Guard seized almost 510,000 pounds of cocaine in fiscal year 2025 — marking the largest amount of the drug snatched in the service’s entire history.

The increase in cocaine confiscation comes as the Coast Guard has launched several key initiatives in recent months as part of President Donald Trump’s larger effort to crack down on drug cartels.

TRUMP’S STRIKE ON CARTEL VESSEL OFF VENEZUELA SENDS WARNING TO MADURO: ‘NO SANCTUARY’

The amount the service seized translates to 193 million potentially lethal doses — enough to jeopardize more than half of the U.S. population, according to the Coast Guard. Additionally, it amounts to more than three times the service’s annual average, which comes out to roughly 167,000 pounds of cocaine each year.

Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem looks out during an aerial tour on a HC-130J aircraft from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak on March 17, 2025, in Kodiak Station, Alaska.  (Alex Brandon/AFP via Getty Images)

"The Coast Guard’s top priority is to achieve complete operational control of the U.S. border and maritime approaches," Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting commandant of the Coast Guard, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "We own the sea, and this historic amount of cocaine seized shows we are defeating narco-terrorist and cartel operations to protect our communities and keep dangerous drugs off our streets."

WATCH: COAST GUARD SEIZES COCAINE, SUSPECTED NARCO-TERRORISTS IN PACIFIC VIPER RAID

The Coast Guard has launched multiple high-profile operations to advance Trump’s crusade against drugs. In August, the Coast Guard launched Operation Pacific Viper, a joint effort between the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy aimed at countering the influx of illegal drugs to the U.S.

As of October, the Coast Guard reported it had confiscated 100,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since August under Operation Pacific Viper, averaging 1,600 pounds of cocaine daily, according to the service.

U.S. Coast Guard crew members offload seized cocaine in San Diego following Operation Pacific Viper, which netted more than 40,000 pounds of narcotics from multiple interdictions across the Eastern Pacific. (Coast Guard)

COAST GUARD BURNS, SINKS SUSPECTED 'DRUG BOAT,' APPREHENDS 7 ALLEGED DRUG SMUGGLERS: VIDEO

Additionally, the service announced it would beef up its forces along Texas’ Rio Grande river to support Trump’s border security mission and to curb the flow of drugs into the country as part of a "surge operation." Known as Operation River Wall, the service said that it would send additional response boats, shallow watercraft, command and control assets, and tactical teams to the area to support the operation.

The second Trump administration has taken aggressive steps to mitigate the flow of drugs into the U.S., and designated drug cartel groups like Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa and others as foreign terrorist organizations in February.

The U.S. killed six alleged drug traffickers on a boat in international waters near Venezuela, President Donald Trump announced Oct. 14, 2025. (realDonaldTrump/Truth Social)

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Likewise, the White House issued lawmakers a memo Sept. 30 notifying them that the U.S. is participating in a "non-international armed conflict" with drug smugglers, and has conducted more than 15 strikes against vessels off the coast of Venezuela and in the Eastern Pacific.

However, lawmakers have questioned the legality of these strikes, and Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Tim Kaine, D-Va., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced a war powers resolution prohibiting U.S. armed forces from engaging in "hostilities" against Venezuela.

Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the White House.