The statement above impacts the Coast Guard’s reputation and potentially its budget. Youtube indicates that this was recorded on October 15.
I would be the first to acknowledge that the Coast Guard has not been 100% effective in cutting off the supply of drugs flowing from Latin America, but if it is ineffective, so is every other US law enforcement agency.
The Coast Guard seizes more illegal drugs than any other US law enforcement agency. Perhaps more than all others combined.
Since early August, Coast Guard authority has resulted in 34 interdictions, apprehension of 86 people, and the seizure of 100,000 pounds of Cocaine, in the Eastern Pacific alone, where most of the maritime drug smuggling actually occurs.
The Pesident’s claim of eliminating sea borne drugs smuggling and the number of lives saved per boat sunk are wildly unrealistic.
Earlier, I talked about why blowing up boats off Venezuela would not result in a large reduction in deaths by. drug overdose.
Most drug overdoses were by the use of synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl. Fentanyl is not generally transported in the go fast boats we have seen destroyed. Because fentanyl is so compact, it usually crosses the borders over land at regular ports of entry., usually being transported by US citizens who blend in with the heavy cross border traffic.
SAN YSIDRO, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES, Port of Entry
Photos by Mani Albrecht, U.S. Customs and Border Protection
The President is claiming that each boat destroyed saves the lives of 25,000 Americans. If that were true, there should be no deaths due to overdose this year the rate of deaths due to overdose was a bit over 100,000 per year during the Covid pandemic but has been reduced to about 80,000 by the end of 2024. That is still a lot, but the recent success suggests there may be other things we can do to cut deaths due to overdose that may be more effective than relying on kinetic interdiction.
USCGC Stone (WMSL-758) delivers $517.5 million in illicit drugs interdicted in Eastern Pacific Ocean. Along side are displayed cowlings of outboard motor disabled by the Airborne Use of Force crew from the Coast Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) based in Jacksonville, FL.
Suggestions that the smugglers are consistently able to outrun the Coast Guard are completely false. The cutters carry smaller high speed craft that can generally out run the smugglers and where they cannot, the Coast Guard has snipers in helicopters with specially trained crews who can disable the smugglers engines. The smugglers can’t outrun a missile but they also cannot out run Coast Guard helicopters. This special squadron just celebrated their 1000th interdiction.
Lately, I have been hearing the word accountability being thrown around a lot, and it is a good word. Who is responsible for the epidemic of drug use and the resulting deaths due overdose? Gangs in Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela may have helped, but demand by American users created this problem. Most of the distributors and pushers were American citizens. Americans own this problem. Blaming it on foreigners is more comfortable, but not really helpful because, as long as the demand exists, there will be a source.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
Your points are all good Chuck.
A good way would be to reduce the demand, but I see nobody standing up for spending the money required for rehab. Around my area local folk just don’t want the druggies and dealers on their street,
I think the president just insulted over 41,000 Coast Guardsmen with that statement. I will let it go at that.
This administration is water ignorant. Over and over and over again. Among other things obviously.
I agree completely. What has happened to law and order in this country? When the President of the United States can authorize illegal use of the military and denigrate the fine work of the United States Coast Guard, we are in a lot of trouble.
A few random thoughts:
2. People from NY can be rude, even to their friends.
3. Venezuela has ties to Iran to include training of military in Venezuela and Iran. The fentanyl precursors come from China. The Chinese government allows this. Who buys Venezuela’s oil?
4. What if the dosage of fentanyl isn’t a quality control problem by the government associated fentanyl cartels in Venezuela? What if it is kept purposely high to keep overdoses high while still having plausible deniability? What if for geopolitical reasons the cartels are trying to work themselves out of a job?
5. Monroe Doctrine.
6. Why didn’t we do this in Trumps first term? What changed?
Reportedly, most of the fentanyl comes from Mexico not Venezuela.
The threat of a Hellfire may be more of a deterrent than the threat of prison time, but if that is the motivation he should not be bad mouthing the Coast Guard.
I don’t disagree on your points. As a retired LEO I know no law enforcement in this country has changed the price/availability of drugs through enforcement. Just didn’t/won’t happen. But even if true the President shouldn’t bad mouth the CG. We didn’t make the playing field.
However, with the pressure on the Mexican government I would not be surprised if the labs shift(ed) to another country. Mexico has a lot to lose and will have to crackdown on the precursors. Venezuela doesn’t have much to lose. Changing routes occurs often enough that it is possible.
And of course, once made, the fentanyl can be transported over many routes to minimize risk.
The USCG and U.S. Navy should create a common combat system that uses the same parts, is agnostic as to platform, has a specific SWaP-C, and can be cabled up on anything including MERSHIPS that can support the system.
Resumption of the Dual 5”/38 or similar mount should return to the fleet(s). These guns will not only be able to shoot all traditional 5” rounds, but be able to shoot the new winged, powered smart rounds under development. I would keep 3-4 dual mounts.
The Mk38 Mod 4 should become the new standard for CIWS in 30mm.
All platforms should have a 3D non-rotating AESA radar as a main sensor at a minimum.
Adoption of the new Anduril drones, missiles, and other products should be common on all Surface Combatants, and be the primary armament on a new smaller Small Surface Combatant that can be built in numbers quickly. The U.S. Navy needs many DEs soon. .
I don’t like the way the President said what he said.
Nobody does more with less than the Coast Guard.
The US’s traditional approach in the “War on Drugs” has not worked though. Drugs, more dangerous than ever, continue to flood into the Country.
I am not opposed to trying a different approach.
Nor do I, but I know this is not going to fix the problem which is mostly Fentanyl coming across the US/Mexico border.
What is the fix? Do tell.
I don’t have a fix, but the first step is to correctly identify the problem and Cocaine imports from Venezuela has very little impact on drug overdose deaths in the US.
Strengthening inspections at the Mexican border might help, but really we need to work on reducing demand. We don’t seem to have made much effort on that front.
Money to be made in the drug trade is such that if we shut down one source another will spring up.