The USCGC Stone (WMSL 758) destroys a drug smuggling vessel in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, as part of Operation Pacific Viper. DHS photo from video
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has released footage showing the destruction of a drug smuggling vessel, one of three interdictions conducted by the USCG Cutter Stone over a single weekend that resulted in approximately 13,000 pounds of cocaine seized and seven suspected drug dealers apprehended.
In a tweet accompanying the footage, DHS stated: “ASMR: @USCG captures, burns, and sinks a drug boat.”
The operations were conducted as part of Operation Pacific Viper, a wider effort ordered by President Trump to combat foreign drug cartels in Latin America. Under Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Coast Guard has been deploying “overwhelming force against the cartels” in an effort to disrupt drug trafficking into the United States.
The release of this footage comes in the wake of controversy sparked when President Trump shared a video last week of a deadly U.S. military strike on a drug smuggling vessel off Venezuela’s coast, which reportedly resulted in 11 fatalities. That operation targeted alleged members of Tren de Aragua (TDA), a gang Washington designated as a terrorist group earlier this year.
The U.S. military presence in the Caribbean has significantly increased in recent weeks, with multiple warships, a nuclear-powered submarine, surveillance aircraft, and more than 4,500 sailors and Marines deployed to the region.
Legal experts have questioned whether the military strike may have violated international law, noting that drug interdictions typically fall under Coast Guard jurisdiction rather than the Navy.
Operation Pacific Viper has produced record drug seizures. On August 26, the Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton offloaded over 76,000 pounds of illegal drugs valued at $473 million at Port Everglades, Florida. This included approximately 61,740 pounds of cocaine and 14,400 pounds of marijuana, marking the largest drug offload in Coast Guard history.
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