The United States Department of Justice and the Coast Guard have seized 45,000 pounds of cocaine worth more than $500 million.
Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel announced the operation on Wednesday during a briefing at Port Everglades in Florida.
Bondi noted that the bust had saved thousands of lives, calling it “a text book example of the Justice Department supporting the fight against violent crime.”
The top official said that, in addition to the cocaine, 3,800 pounds of marijuana were also seized, adding that two cartels, CJNG and Sinaloa, “were heavily tied to these shipments.”
The Coast Guard used drones, aircraft, and ships to intercept the traffickers. Eleven individuals have been arrested in connection with the operation, which lasted 11 days.
Patel, in his remarks, vowed that the U.S. would “dismantle the ‘next-man-up’ theory that has been breeding in these Mexican cartels for generations.”
“This is what it looks like when a United States whole-of-government approach brings every resource to bear,” the FBI director said.
Patel assured that federal authorities would “get all the drugs off the streets, off the markets, and we are going to lock them up.”
