The Coast Guard Cutter Seneca crew offloaded more than 12,000 pounds of cocaine at Coast Guard Sector Miami. The drugs were seized in the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America.
"These down range counter-drug operations are a vital component to the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security's mission and our national security. These operations enable us to extend our maritime borders, weaken the economic engine of Transnational Criminal Organizations, contribute to enhancing stability and security across our partner nations within Central America, and they combat the drug epidemic within our local communities," Commander John Christensen said in a statement.
The cutter Seneca’s crew along with those of the other ships conducted operations targeting transnational criminal organizations in conjunction with Joint Interagency Task Force-South, Department of Defense, Customs and Border Protection, Department of Justice, and a number of other Coast Guard aircraft. The cutter Seneca’s presence and efforts are critical to disrupting and dismantling the transnational criminal organizations that attempt to smuggle these drugs through the ocean and into Central and North America.
"I am exceptionally proud of this crew. Over the course of the last three months they rose above the challenges of conducting operations at sea, persevered through many personal sacrifices and showed an unwavering dedication to serving our nation," Christensen says.