A joint operation by the U.S. Coast Guard and Homeland Security Task Force intercepted a drug-smuggling vessel and arrested three men in Atlantic waters north of Puerto Rico on 14 January 2026.
Authorities seized sixteen bales of cocaine from the vessel, weighing 506 kilograms (1,115 pounds) in total, with a wholesale value estimated at more than $7 million.
The operation began when a Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft spotted a 25-foot blue-and-white panga-type go-fast vessel in international waters north of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico.
Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan then directed the cutter Joseph Tezanos and a 45-Response Boat Medium crew from Station San Juan to intercept the vessel.
A Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine aircraft also joined the operation, providing aerial surveillance.
Once on scene, the Coast Guard boat crew, with support from the CBP aircrew and the cutter, took control of the vessel.
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