Mexican and Salvadoran naval forces delivered a crushing blow to drug cartels this week, seizing over 10 tons of cocaine in coordinated Pacific Ocean operations while the U.S. Trump administration’s intelligence-sharing strategy proves effective in dismantling transnational criminal networks.
Story Highlights
- Mexico intercepted a narco-submarine carrying 4 tons of cocaine 250 nautical miles south of Manzanillo, supported by U.S. Northern Command intelligence
- El Salvador executed its largest-ever drug bust, confiscating 6.6 tons of cocaine from a Tanzanian-registered vessel and arresting 10 suspects
- Combined weekly seizures totaled nearly 10 tons, delivering a multimillion-dollar financial hit to organized crime operations
- These non-lethal interdictions contrast sharply with recent U.S. military strikes that killed 11 people without confirmed drug evidence
Mexican Navy Intercepts Narco-Submarine With U.S. Intelligence Support
Mexican naval forces intercepted a semisubmersible “narco sub” carrying approximately 4 tons of cocaine in the Pacific Ocean, 250 nautical miles south of Manzanillo. The operation, announced Thursday by Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch, resulted in the detention of three suspects and relied on intelligence provided by U.S. Northern Command and Joint Interagency Task Force South.
García Harfuch emphasized the seizure prevented millions of doses from reaching American streets while delivering a direct blow to cartel financial structures. This interdiction showcases effective multinational cooperation under President Trump’s pressure on Mexico to combat fentanyl flows and drug trafficking.
El Salvador Achieves Record-Breaking Cocaine Seizure
El Salvador’s navy executed its largest drug bust in history, seizing 6.6 tons of cocaine from a 180-foot Tanzanian-registered vessel approximately 380 miles southwest of its coast. The Sunday operation on the FMS Eagle resulted in the arrest of 10 men from Colombia, Nicaragua, Panama, and Ecuador.
Authorities released images showing 330 packages of cocaine extracted from the vessel’s ballast tanks and provided media access to the ship at La Union port. This record-breaking seizure demonstrates El Salvador’s growing capability to disrupt Pacific maritime trafficking routes used by cartels to transport cocaine from South America to Mexico and the United States.
Coordinated Operations Demonstrate Regional Anti-Cartel Success
The Mexican seizure contributed to a weekly total of nearly 10 tons of drugs confiscated, including a U.S. Coast Guard bust of over 2,000 pounds off Puerto Rico earlier in the week. These successful non-lethal interdictions stand in stark contrast to recent U.S. military “narcoterrorist” strikes that killed 11 people across three boats in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean without producing confirmed drug evidence.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has adopted an aggressive anti-cartel stance since taking office, extraditing 37 traffickers to the U.S. last month while asserting sovereignty by opposing lethal U.S. strikes on Mexican soil, which have killed at least 145 people since September 2025.
Cartel Innovation Meets Enhanced Maritime Enforcement
Narco-submarines emerged in the 1990s as cartel innovations designed to evade detection while transporting cocaine from Colombia and Ecuador through Pacific routes to Mexico and ultimately the United States. These semisubmersible vessels represent sophisticated criminal engineering that challenges traditional interdiction methods.
The combined seizures disrupt critical trafficking infrastructure and impose significant financial losses on organized crime networks that rely on maritime smuggling to circumvent land-based border security.
This coordinated enforcement approach, enabled by U.S. intelligence sharing and regional cooperation, demonstrates how strategic partnerships can achieve results without the controversial lethality of direct military strikes that have strained diplomatic relations.
4 tons of cocaine seized from "narco sub" off Mexico as El Salvador makes record drug bust at sea
https://t.co/3WTdgp42y0— CBS Sacramento (@CBSSacramento) February 20, 2026
The successful interdictions bolster the Trump administration’s strategy of pressuring Latin American governments through tariffs and intelligence cooperation to combat drug trafficking while protecting American communities from the addiction and violence these shipments fuel.
By preventing approximately 10 tons of cocaine from reaching distribution networks, these operations saved countless American families from the devastation of drug abuse while simultaneously weakening the financial foundations that enable cartels to corrupt governments, terrorize communities, and undermine the rule of law throughout the Western Hemisphere.
