A fast boat loaded with over 2,400 kilograms of cocaine and hundreds of pounds of marijuana was intercepted this Wednesday in the Eastern Pacific by a multinational coalition led by the Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATF-South), as the organization announced on its social media.
The vessel, a 35-foot go-fast boat, was detected 114 nautical miles south of Punta Burica, on the border between Panama and Costa Rica, while traveling from Colombia to Costa Rica along one of the most active drug trafficking routes in Central America's Pacific region.
A maritime patrol aircraft from the United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) located the vessel and maintained continuous aerial surveillance over it until surface forces arrived on the scene.
It was then that the National Aeronaval Service of Panama deployed its interceptor boats. According to JIATF-South, their personnel "pursued the vessel and brought it to a complete stop."
The operation resulted in the seizure of 2,428 kilograms of cocaine and 619 pounds of marijuana, as well as the arrest of three suspects.
The operation involved JIATF-South, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) from the United States, as well as authorities from Colombia and Panama, within the framework of the American Coalition Against the Cartels, a multinational initiative comprising 18 nations that works in coordination with SOUTHCOM.
"Teamwork makes the mission possible," emphasized JIATF-South as they announced the operation, highlighting that these efforts "support operations to dismantle narcoterrorist networks in the Western Hemisphere."
The corridor south of Punta Burica has established itself as one of the most active transit points for drug trafficking in the Pacific, with routes originating from Colombia—particularly from Buenaventura and the Valle del Cauca—towards Central America and ultimately into the U.S. market.
This interdiction adds to a series of blows against maritime drug trafficking recorded in the region over the past few weeks.
In mid-July, U.S. authorities seized tons of narcotics at sea, including the shipment from the boat "Ángel del Pacífico," which was coming from Colombia and was intercepted 142 nautical miles south of Golfito, Costa Rica.
Days later, an international coalition intercepted nearly three tons of cocaine in Ecuadorian waters, marking the largest maritime seizure in that country for the year to date.
The anti-narcotics offensive in the Eastern Pacific intensified since late 2025 with Operation Lanza del Sur, driven by the Trump administration and expanded in January 2026.
On August 4, SOUTHCOM activated a new permanent military force to combat cartels in the Western Hemisphere.
Between October 1, 2025, and June 18, 2026, JIATF-South intercepted 305.5 metric tons of cocaine, denied more than 7.7 billion dollars to narcoterrorist networks, and arrested 518 individuals, according to the organization's own data.
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