Fact-check · Oct 15, 2026 · Donald Trump
“A big percentage of the drugs come in by the sea, by the water. So it's 97%”
MISLEADING
What the record shows
About 5% of seized drugs (FY2014-2018) were seized at sea ports of entry; less than 3% of arrival zone seizures occurred on maritime conveyances (2009). No official source provides a single 'percentage of drugs by sea' metric. The 97% figure conflates a recent drop in CBP seizures (July-Nov 2025) with the proportion of total trafficking.
The claim misrepresents seizure data as a measure of total drug flow. Maritime routes account for a small fraction of total drug interdictions, not 97%.
Sources
- Is President Donald Trump right that drugs entering the US by sea have dropped by 97%?
- PolitiFact FL: Is Trump right that drugs entering the US by sea have dropped by 97%?
- PolitiFact FL: Is Trump right that drugs entering the US ...
- FACT FOCUS: Trump says drug trafficking by sea is down 98.2%. The numbers don't show that - KTAR.com
- Fact check: Do quarter of US’s ‘drug boat’ searches find nothing?
- Drugs in the United States
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