Drug task force seizes record-breaking 1 million pounds of cocaine, denying cartels and narco-terrorists $11B
EXCLUSIVE – A Florida-based multi-agency task force has seized a record one million pounds of cocaine during fiscal year 2025 — a haul officials say represents 378 million lethal doses, enough to kill every American.
The seizure was announced by Joint Inter-Agency Task Force – South (JIATF-S), led by U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). The unit, which includes the U.S. Coast Guard, works with partner nations to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs through the "transit zone" between South America, Central America and the Caribbean and to weaken transnational criminal organizations.
According to the task force, the amount of drugs seized over the past 12 months is enough to fill 42 dump trucks. The 2025 fiscal year ends Tuesday.
JIATF-S confirmed to Fox News Digital that the effort has denied cartels and narco-terrorists $11.34 billion in revenue and removed 377.9 million lethal doses from the streets.
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JIATF-S operates across 42 million square miles, from the Eastern Pacific to the Western Atlantic, stretching from international waters north of the Caribbean Antilles to the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn.
The region has long been a major trafficking corridor for drugs, arms, cash and people. Well-financed and sophisticated criminal networks continue to exploit the area, officials said.
"By disrupting the flow of these deadly drugs, JIATF-S is saving lives and protecting our homeland," the agency added.
A seizure of this magnitude has never been accomplished before. Officials said the one million pounds of cocaine does not include the strikes on Venezuelan narco-terrorists.
The Trump administration has vowed to intensify military action in the Caribbean as part of its counter-narcotics strategy.
In recent months, U.S. forces have conducted multiple operations targeting smuggling vessels as President Donald Trump pushed to crack down on cartels and stem the flow of cocaine and other illicit drugs into the United States.
In February, Trump designated groups, including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel as foreign terrorist organizations. The Justice Department has also offered a $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Maduro is accused by U.S. authorities of helping lead the Cartel of the Suns, a Venezuelan drug-trafficking network allegedly comprised of senior government and military officials.
"As he gained power in Venezuela, Maduro participated in a corrupt and violent narco-terrorism conspiracy with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization," a State Department bulletin states.
Prosecutors allege Maduro helped arrange multi-ton shipments of FARC-produced cocaine and directed the Cartel of the Suns to provide the group with military-grade weapons.
In August, Trump approved the deployment of several U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers to strengthen counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean.
Maduro responded by declaring that Venezuela was ready to resist any attacks, calling the move "an extravagant, unjustifiable, immoral and absolutely criminal and bloody threat." He has accused Trump of orchestrating a broader campaign to overthrow his government.
Fox News Digital's Diana Stancy contributed to this report.