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FIRST ON FOX: US Air and Marine Operations (AMO) deployed a Black Hawk helicopter to intercept a suspected drug-trafficking boat off the coast of Puerto Rico earlier this month.
On May 14, AMO found a 25-meter blue boat carrying three people and visible packages. After reviewing its work, the San Juan Marine Unit deployed two law enforcement boats, surrounded by the Black Hawk, according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The agency arrested three people from the Dominican Republic and five bales containing 391 kilograms of cocaine.
The helicopter-assisted takedown is the latest show of US military power that has been targeting drug-trafficking operations south of the US border.
FRIENDLY TROUBLES IN THE CARIBBEAN: HOMELAND SECURITY BATTLE FIGHTS A QUIET WAR IN PUERTO RICO
US agents approach a suspected drug boat off the coast of Puerto Rico (Customs and Border Protection)
“Our Air and Marine Operations team demonstrated exceptional skill and teamwork in this operation. Our Black Hawk team’s decisive use of fire was instrumental in stopping the ship and preventing dangerous drugs from reaching our communities,” said Caribbean Air and Marine Branch Director Christopher Hunter.
“This operation highlights our commitment to working with our partners at all levels to disrupt trafficking networks and protect the security of the United States and its territories,” he added.
At the start of his second term, President Donald Trump made it clear that he would use all the names available to call drug trafficking a threat to the country.
On January 20, 2025, Trump declared a drug emergency.
“They present an unusual and unusual threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States. I hereby declare a national emergency to address those threats,” the White House said in its executive order.
SPEC OPS CHIEF ORDERS CARIBBEAN DRIVE IN ‘DEFENSIVE’ DUE TO HEGSETH SIGN, WHITE HOUSE SAYS.
President Donald Trump participates in a roundtable discussion on public safety at the Tennessee Air National Guard Base in Memphis, Tenn., Monday, March 23, 2026, with Gov. Bill Lee, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, former Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Gady Serralta, director of the US Marshals Service. (Mark Schifelbein/AP)
Next, the Department of Defense drew the country’s attention when it began conducting strikes on boats off the coast of Venezuela, in a manner it says is consistent with the administration’s position.
After nearly 20 strikes in waters around the Caribbean, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the efforts had successfully halted other human trafficking operations.
“WINNING: Some of the top drug traffickers in the US Southern Command have decided to suspend all drug operations COMPLETELY due to the recent (very effective) strikes in the Caribbean,” Hegseth said in his social media post.
In the Black Hawk encounter, American agents chose to approach the ship instead of striking it from a distance.
Infrared video shared with Fox News Digital showed three men on the boat throwing the contents of the boat inside as the Black Hawk and other US boats circled the ship.
TRUMP’S BATTLE WAR ENTERS NEW PHASE AS EXPERTS PREDICT NEXT
Two US ships approach a suspected drug boat off the coast of Puerto Rico. (Customs and Border Protection)
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The three suspects put their hands on their heads when the agents approached their ship and were dragged to the American boats. A search of the boat revealed empty plastic boxes and other unknown packages.
The cargo that was thrown into the water has been recovered, according to CBP.
