Major blow to drug trafficking: USCGC Calhoun offloads over $140 million in seized narcotics at Port Everglades

The seizures are tied to ongoing criminal investigations into transnational criminal organizations, including the foreign terrorist entity Tren de Aragua.

The most significant interdiction occurred on April 12, when Calhoun, operating under tactical control of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, intercepted a suspicious fishing vessel in international waters approximately 1,200 miles west of Las Palmas, Canary Islands. The boarding team discovered and seized around 10,000 pounds of cocaine on board.

On May 1, a maritime patrol aircraft located a suspect vessel roughly 100 miles off the Colombian coast. A Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment deployed aboard USS Minneapolis Saint Paul boarded the vessel, recovering an estimated 1,500 pounds of cocaine.

Another successful interdiction took place on May 5, about 80 miles off the Dominican Republic, where Calhoun's crew boarded a vessel and seized approximately 825 pounds of cocaine.

On May 6, approximately 85 miles off the coast of Haiti, Calhoun’s law enforcement team interdicted another vessel, securing around 3,135 pounds of cocaine and 14 pounds of marijuana.

On May 7, maritime patrol aircraft detected two vessels operating suspiciously approximately 155 miles off the Dominican Republic. Calhoun’s crew interdicted both, seizing a combined total of roughly 3,580 pounds of cocaine.

– I’m incredibly proud of Calhoun’s role in continuing to disrupt the flow of illicit narcotics – said Captain Matthew Hammond, commanding officer of USCGC Calhoun. – The Coast Guard and our partners work tirelessly to deny drug trafficking organizations access to smuggling routes bound for the United States and dismantle transnational criminal activity abroad, which threatens Americans here at home.

Supporting interdiction operations were:

• Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-S)
• U.S. Coast Guard Seventh District Command Center Watchstanders
• Tactical Law Enforcement Team-South

Detecting and interdicting maritime drug smuggling operations demands high-level interagency and international cooperation. Based in Key West, JIATF-S leads detection and monitoring of illicit drug movements across air and sea. Once interdiction is viable, operational control transitions to the U.S. Coast Guard for boarding and seizure. Operations in the Caribbean Sea are conducted under the authority of the Seventh Coast Guard District, headquartered in Miami.

These interdictions align with the objectives of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force initiatives. OCDETF targets the highest-level criminal organizations that pose a threat to the United States, utilizing a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency strategy.

Commissioned in 2024, USCGC Calhoun is the newest 418-foot Legend-class National Security Cutter, homeported in North Charleston, South Carolina. The vessel’s primary missions include counter-narcotics operations and national defense readiness.