Coast Guard helicopter sniper takes out narco-boat engines in stunning exclusive video
Coast Guard Cutter Seneca interdicted 5,500 pounds of cocaine northeast of the Galápagos Islands Sept. 10, 2025, as part of Operation Pacific Viper.
EXCLUSIVE: The Coast Guard cutter Munro seized more than 20,000 pounds of cocaine during a single drug interdiction mission on Tuesday, marking the largest cocaine seizure ever conducted by a national security cutter involving a go-fast vessel.
Newly released video shared with Fox News Digital shows Coast Guard forces carrying out the operation, including a sniper from the service’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) based in Jacksonville, Florida. The footage captures the sniper using disabling fire to cripple a go-fast vessel’s engines, allowing Coast Guard teams to complete the interdiction as part of Operation Pacific Viper.
The mission took place in the Eastern Pacific Ocean south of Mexico. According to the Coast Guard, the cocaine seized represents more than 7.5 million potentially lethal doses.
Operation Pacific Viper, launched in August, is a joint Coast Guard–Navy initiative aimed at disrupting the flow of illegal drugs into the United States. The operation aligns with President Donald Trump’s broader effort to aggressively target drug cartels operating throughout Latin America. As of October, the Coast Guard reported that Operation Pacific Viper had resulted in the seizure of more than 100,000 pounds of cocaine in the eastern Pacific—an average of roughly 1,600 pounds per day.
HITRON snipers play a key role in these missions by targeting and disabling the engines of suspected drug-smuggling vessels using precision rifle fire. Once a vessel is disabled, Coast Guard teams are able to board it and seize illicit cargo.
Go-fast vessels are commonly used by drug traffickers, particularly in the Caribbean. In November, the Coast Guard announced it had seized nearly 510,000 pounds of cocaine during fiscal year 2025—the largest total seizure of cocaine in the service’s history.
That amount equates to an estimated 193 million potentially lethal doses, enough to threaten more than half of the U.S. population, according to the Coast Guard. The total also exceeds the service’s annual average by more than three times, as the typical yearly seizure amount is about 167,000 pounds.
The Trump administration has taken a hard-line approach to drug trafficking, designating major cartel groups—including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel—as foreign terrorist organizations in February.
In addition to Operation Pacific Viper, the administration has conducted at least 22 strikes against suspected drug-smuggling vessels in Latin American waters since September. Some lawmakers have raised concerns about the legality of the strikes, particularly after the White House acknowledged that a second strike was launched against a vessel following an initial attack that left survivors.
Despite the criticism, the Trump administration has maintained that it has the legal authority to carry out the operations.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., along with Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va.; Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; and Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced a war powers resolution Wednesday seeking to restrict President Trump from using U.S. armed forces to engage in hostilities within or against Venezuela.
Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has indicated the strikes will continue.
“We’ve only just begun striking narco-boats and putting narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean because they’ve been poisoning the American people,” Hegseth said Tuesday.
The Trump administration has adopted a hard-line approach to dealing with drugs coming into the United States.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (right) pilots a U.S. Coast Guard response boat with the Maritime Security Response Team in San Diego March 16, 2025.
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