The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard are reminding the cartels who’s in charge of America’s borders, seizing over 7,850 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $58.1 million during a bust off the Eastern Pacific last weekend. The operation, carried out by the Coast Guard on Sunday, involved a Navy helicopter aircrew spotting a vessel acting suspiciously, leading to the interdiction by a Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment from the USS Sampson.

Three suspected drug smugglers, all claiming non-U.S. nationalities, were taken into custody by the Coast Guard during the mission. Their vessel, described as a “hazard to navigation,” was sunk after the bust, ensuring it would no longer serve as a tool for the cartels flooding drugs into the U.S.

The USS Sampson, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, had departed from Naval Base San Diego on June 3 specifically to aid in border security and counter-narcotics operations, reflecting a clear priority in the Trump administration’s broader national security posture. “Border security is national security,” Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement following the bust. “We are not going to stop until we have 100% operational control of our border.”

This major seizure is just the latest in a series of victories against the cartels under Trump’s second term, demonstrating the administration’s commitment to cracking down on drug trafficking that destroys communities across America. It follows other recent milestones, including the administration’s heavy sanctions on Mexican banks accused of facilitating fentanyl trafficking and record-setting fentanyl and methamphetamine seizures at the border.

The Trump administration has also announced additional sanctions on specific cartels, adding another tool to its strategy to cripple the flow of narcotics. The broader push includes a coordinated approach leveraging the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and Treasury Department sanctions to choke off cartel revenue streams while hammering their operational capabilities.

While the Biden administration’s policies left the border porous and emboldened cartels to push fentanyl and cocaine across with minimal resistance, Trump’s return to office brought back a “zero-tolerance” approach to border security, leading to record-low illegal crossings and a resurgence of direct action to stop traffickers before they can reach U.S. communities.

Many older conservative voters who have seen the destruction of fentanyl in their communities understand what’s at stake. Every shipment seized is more lives saved, more families kept whole, and another blow to the violent organizations exploiting the border crisis for profit. This latest seizure underscores that the Trump administration’s aggressive tactics aren’t just about numbers—they’re about protecting American families from the devastation that drugs bring into neighborhoods nationwide.

Cartels continue to innovate, using semi-submersibles, drones, and offshore routes to try to evade detection. However, the U.S. Navy’s global reach, combined with the Coast Guard’s interdiction capabilities, remains a nightmare for these trafficking networks. The Eastern Pacific, often used as a highway for South American cocaine shipments, is now under renewed scrutiny with Navy assets like the USS Sampson actively patrolling the region.

While the cartels may attempt to adapt, the consistent hammering from U.S. forces and the administration’s willingness to escalate sanctions and enforcement show that America is serious about reclaiming its borders and choking off the flow of poison at its source.

As Trump’s border czar Tom Homan recently stated, “We are not just building the wall. We are building a border enforcement system designed to leave the cartels with nowhere to hide.”

Expect more of these headlines in the months to come as the Trump administration intensifies its focus on dismantling drug networks, tightening the southern border, and holding corrupt financial actors accountable for enabling cartel operations.

Because as this bust shows, in Trump’s America, the days of letting the cartels operate with impunity are over.