The operation is a surge in Coast Guard forces to the Eastern Pacific aimed at stopping cartels and transnational criminal organizations before their drugs and human smuggling operations reach U.S. shores, the Coast Guard said in an Oct. 14 release. According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Operation Pacific Viper has averaged about 1,600 pounds of cocaine interdicted daily, resulting in 34 total interdictions since its launch.

“Operation Pacific Viper has proven to be a crucial weapon in the fight against foreign drug traffickers and cartels in Latin America and has sent a clear message that we will disrupt, dismantle and destroy their deadly business exploits wherever we find it,” said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. “In cutting off the flow of these deadly drugs, the Coast Guard is saving countless American lives and delivering on President Trump’s promise to Make America Safe Again and reestablish our maritime dominance.”

In August, Operation Pacific Viper yielded the Coast Guard’s largest-ever drug offload, when the USCGC Hamilton offloaded more than 76,000 pounds of illegal drugs, valued at $473 million, at Port Everglades—including approximately 61,740 pounds of cocaine and 14,400 pounds of marijuana.

A U.S. Coast Guard crew member offloads seized cocaine in San Diego following Operation Pacific Viper in the Eastern Pacific. (U.S. Coast Guard)

CBP AGENTS SEIZE $1.3M WORTH OF METH AND HEROIN IN BORDER DRUG BUST AMID TRUMP’S WAR ON NARCOTERRORISM

‘A global logistics enterprise’

To better understand the scope of the cocaine trade and what such seizures mean for national security, Fox News Digital spoke with Spencer Coursen, a threat management specialist and former U.S. Army Ranger and special deputy marshal. Coursen explained that most cocaine bound for the U.S. originates along Colombia’s Pacific coast, with routes often passing through Ecuador, Peru or Venezuela before moving north via the Caribbean, Mexico or increasingly, the Pacific corridor.

People flock to Windansea Beach along the La Jolla coast on May 10, 2025, in San Diego, California. The Coast Guard has been targeting drug traffickers who have been sending narcotics toward American shores. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

As law enforcement efforts tightened along traditional routes, cartels shifted west, taking advantage of the vastness of the Pacific to evade detection.

“They’re not street gangs,” Coursen said. “They’re global logistics enterprises that rival Amazon, vertically integrated from jungle production to port distribution. They have infrastructure, surveillance, counter-surveillance and billions in cash and weapons to protect their routes.”

The U.S. Coast Guard approaches a suspected smuggling vessel in the Pacific Ocean during Operation Pacific Viper, part of ongoing efforts to disrupt cartel maritime networks. (U.S. Coast Guard)

WAR DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES NEW COUNTER-NARCOTICS TASK FORCE UNDER TRUMP DIRECTIVE TO CRUSH CARTELS

Coursen said that while the operation’s success spotlights the Coast Guard’s vigilance, it also gives a glimpse into the sheer scale and sophistication of the narcotics trade.

“Every win is great,” Coursen said. “But every win is also an insight into just how much cocaine is being moved. The most recent estimates show 3,000 to 4,000 tons a year—about 6 million pounds. So even massive interdictions like this are only scratching the surface.”

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter patrols the Eastern Pacific during Operation Pacific Viper, part of the service’s ongoing mission to intercept drug trafficking vessels at sea. (U.S. Coast Guard)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Coursen warned that despite major seizures like Operation Pacific Viper, cartels’ vast resources allow them to absorb losses and continue operations.

“If nine out of 10 shipments are seized, they’re still making a profit,” he said. “Each one is insured by scale. To them, it’s a tariff—just the cost of doing business.”

He added that the U.S. remains the largest consumer of cocaine globally, accounting for an estimated 40% of worldwide demand.

Despite the success of Operation Pacific Viper, Coursen said interdiction alone will not solve the problem.

“It’s an enormous challenge,” he said. “But every interdiction is a win for national security, and for the men and women who put themselves in harm’s way to make it happen.”

Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a U.S. Writer at Fox News Digital. 

You can follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

The post Coast Guard nabs 50 tons of cocaine bound for posh coastal enclaves as cartel ops ‘rival Amazon’: expert appeared first on My Blog.

Now the Department ofHomeland Security is using “smart walls” that combinehigh-tech with good old-fashioned tall, strong barriers to prevent illegal entry. The idea is not new, even if the technology is.

The ancient Romanshad an early version ofsmart walls. AtHadrian’s Wall in what is now northern England, the Roman Empire established a wall to mark their northern frontier, punctuated by forts. Vindolandais the best preserved large fort, with the layout still visible in stone foundations and a wealth of archeological finds tohelp us guess what every building was.

Under President Donald Trump, encounters of illegal aliens at the border between ports of entry are about a tenth of what they were in the peak Biden months. (Getty Images)

Starting in the 1970s, archeologists found remarkably well-preserved personal items, due to the ideal conditions of the surrounding soil. There were not just durable coins, metal, glass and stone, but even leather shoes and clothes, as well as a trove of letters writtenonthin wood that departing troopshad failed to burn. We know a lot abouthow they lived and worked, communicated, and ran their army.

TRUMP SENDS MILITARY AFTER THE CARTELS AND IT’S LONG OVERDUE

A “dumb wall” would be just putting up a barrier andhoping noone could get over, under or around it. The Romans didn’t relyonthat. First, though their wall was easy to cross, it created a visible frontier that any northern tribes would be aware of and thus know they were crossing without permission into Roman territory. The occasionalheadona spike, evidence of which was found at Vindolanda, was a primitive warning to the illiterate tribes to the north that maybe proceeding further was a bad idea. That’s what today we’d call psychological operations, or “psy-ops.”

Second, like the U.S. southern border barrier system, the Roman wall in northern Britain alsohad early models of signals intelligence to better direct resources to areas under threat. Vindolanda was manned by a cohort, about 500 men or a tenth of a legion. The men wentonregular foot andhorseback patrol. They were ready to move to wherever a threat presented, warned either byhorse-borne messengers or by signal fires lit athigh points along the frontier. They received regular correspondence from the other forts, and occasionally from Rome itself, to keep them informed.

Video

TRUMP’S BORDER ENFORCEMENT UNLEASHES NEW WEAPON AGAINST ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

Two thousand years later, the modern U.S. Border Patrolhas more men than the Romans did in Britain, but they are still few compared to the land they cover. The Border Patrol is getting some much-needed new manpower and resources, after years of neglect under Biden and former Secretary ofHomeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, who diverted staff off the line to processing and releasing illegal aliens into the country.

But even with the significant boost they are getting in theOne Big Beautiful Bill Act, they will still be thinly spread along 1,800 miles of southern border and nearly 5,000 in the north. That’s why, like Roman signal fires and messengers,high-tech cameras, sensors, drones and lightsonthe wall or around the border area can allhelp detect illegal crossings early, so that the Patrol can send vehicles and officers quickly to intercept them.

Under Biden, illegal aliens were so confident of being released that they gladly surrendered to any American in uniform. Millions were released over Biden’s four years. Under President Donald Trump,however, thingshave completely changed.Encountersof illegal aliens at the border between ports of entry are about a tenth of what they were in the peak Biden months.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS OPINION

Video

And unlike the Biden years, almost none are being released into the interior to await years of the immigration process. Instead, as the law requires, they are mostly being detained throughout any applicable immigration process until the U.S.has determined whether theyhave a right to remain. This fact alonehas discouraged many from even attempting to come illegally.

DHSrecently announced the award of $4.5 billion in contracts for 230 miles of various types of barriers along the border with Mexico. This includes 80 miles of the barriers in the middle of the Rio Grande along the Texas border, which may include the effective spinning orange buoys that the state installed in the face of Biden administration opposition as part of Operation Lone Star in 2023.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

TheDHS”smart wall” means not just 30-foot steel bollard walls, but better roads for Border Patrol vehicles to respond to incursions, as well as lights, cameras and sensors.Smart Wallswill be built or enhanced in El Paso and Del Rio in Texas, San Diego and El Centro in California, and in Tucson and Yuma, Arizona – site of the Morelos Gap, where I sawhundreds of illegals cross inone night in 2023.

The Roman Empire knew that walls worked. If well-manned and supported, they could create a stable frontier with limited access according to rules they set. In Trump’s second term, the United States is implementing the same, proven tactics to limit illegal entry to the United States, thus reducing drug smuggling,human trafficking and other crime.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM SIMON HANKINSON

Simon Hankinson is a senior research fellow in The Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center and author of “The Ten Woke Commandments (You Must Not Obey)” from Academica Books. 

The post The new high-tech tool Trump is using to secure our border appeared first on My Blog.