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A boarding team from the Guardacostas Venturous and a helicopter crew from the USS Billings intercepted a suspicious drug smuggling vessel last Thursday, approximately eight nautical miles from Mole Saint-Nicolas, in the northwest of Haiti.
The operation, conducted with the explicit permission of the Haitian government, resulted in the discovery of approximately 3,200 pounds of marijuana, valued at around 3.8 million dollars, according to the official statement from the Coast Guard.
A person was detained as an alleged smuggler during the operation.
The seized cargo and the suspect were handed over to the Haitian authorities last Sunday.
The statement included an important correction: it clarified that the boarding team belonged to the Coast Guard vessel Venturous through the Tactical Law Enforcement Team South (LEDET 405), and not solely to the USS Billings, although the helicopter crew did belong to that Navy ship.
In the operation, the Maritime Attack Squadron 48 also participated, along with the Joint Interagency Task Force South based in Key West, and the Southeast District monitors of the Coast Guard in Miami.
Lieutenant Commander Cory Arsenault, Coast Guard liaison officer for Haiti, emphasized the scope of bilateral collaboration: "In close coordination with the Haitian government, the U.S. Coast Guard remains steadfast in our shared mission to protect the maritime approaches to the Caribbean."
"Together we are strengthening joint operations to disrupt the illegal flow of narcotics, protect vulnerable communities, and maintain the security and stability of the region," Arsenault added.
Mole Saint-Nicolas is strategically located in the Windward Passage, the maritime corridor between Haiti and Cuba that is one of the main routes for drug trafficking destined for the United States.
Haiti is experiencing a severe security crisis: gangs control up to 90% of Port-au-Prince and large areas of the country, making it easier for them to be used as a transit point for regional drug trafficking, according to the State Department in its 2025 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report.
The interception is part of the intensification of the U.S. anti-drug strategy in the Caribbean under the Trump administration, which includes Operation "Southern Spear," launched in November 2025, and the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in the region.
Marco Rubio has also promoted a regional offensive against drug trafficking within the framework of that broader strategy.
The U.S. Coast Guard warns that 80% of drug interdictions headed to that country occur at sea, highlighting the importance of maritime operations to curb the flow of narcotics into U.S. territory.
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