Since September, the Trump administration has been using military power to blow up alleged drug boats in international waters as a tactic in its war on drugs. As of Sept. 2, there have been 21 strikes in what President Donald Trump has called an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.
The latest hit was on Nov. 15. The U.S. Southern Command posted a video of the strike on X and said the boat was apparently involved with a designated terrorist organization and that the three men on board were killed in the blast.
Despite the attacks, Adm. Nathan Moore, the commander of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, told CBS News that business is still good for them, meaning drugs are still being seized close to the United States’ coast, despite the strikes.
On Wednesday, his team intercepted an almost 50,000-pound haul of cocaine off the coast of Florida worth $360 million. “It’s the most cocaine ever seized by a single cutter in one deployment. So business is good,” he said.
“I would just tell you that the drugs you see here on (Cutter) Stone — most have been seized in September, October and even early in the month of November. So business is good for us and we are continuing to enjoy success.”
He likened the conflict to a game of “cat-and-mouse. ... We have success in one area, they shift tactics … and then we shift to counter that.”
Though business hasn’t changed much for Moore, Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Terry Cole also told CBS News the strikes have had a significant impact on drug pricing.
“Cocaine is getting more expensive. And I think what it is — not only more expensive in the U.S., but we’re seeing it become more expensive at first stops," he explained. “So more expensive in Puerto Rico, more expensive in the Dominican, more expensive once it lands in Guatemala and Honduras and Central America.”
The price per kilogram, he said, has increased from 30% to 45%.
“It’s now more expensive to recruit boat captains, it’s more expensive to purchase engines, it’s more expensive to build larger boats for transportation,” he added. “And this is all due to immense pressure.”