Last September, the U.S. military launched 63 strikes against 67 small fishing boats in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean as part of Operation Southern Spear. According to the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights organization, these strikes have resulted in 221 deaths.

In April, President Donald Trump claimed his extrajudicial maritime strikes had stopped 98.2 percent of all drugs entering the country by ocean or sea. However, new evidence from within the Trump administration indicates these strikes have not slowed the flow of drugs into the United States. Instead, they have compelled drug traffickers to "develop new strategies and tactics," while "undermining traditional investigative methods" used by federal law enforcement, according to The Washington Post.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has seized 1.2 billion doses of fentanyl so far in 2026—roughly equal to the total seized in 2025—with 83 percent entering by land. This aligns with the Drug Enforcement Administration's 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment and a Government Accountability Office report, both stating the majority of fentanyl enters through Mexico and the Southwest border ports of entry.

Since July 2023, overdose deaths from synthetic opioids like fentanyl have declined by 50 percent, with a 19 percent decrease in the past year, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, opioid misuse among Americans aged 12 and older has dropped by approximately 17 percent since 2023, according to the 2025 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Meanwhile, street prices for cocaine have remained steady, indicating no significant disruption in supply.

These findings suggest that despite the lethal maritime strikes, the war on drugs continues unabated.

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