Fact-check · Oct 15, 2026 · Donald Trump
“Drugs coming in by sea, by ocean, by sea are down 97%”
MISLEADINGSaid in 3 broadcasts
What the record shows
CBP air/marine seizures fell 98% July-Nov 2025; Coast Guard seizures rose 200% in FY2025 vs. historical average. No unified 'drugs by sea' metric exists. Seizure data does not measure actual drug flow.
Claim conflates seizure drops with actual drug flow reduction. Coast Guard data contradicts the direction. No independent verification of the 97% figure.
Sources
- Coast Guard seized a record $3.8 billion in narcotics at sea in 2025, service says
- Major Drug Busts: US Coast Guard Seizes Record Amount of Cocaine
- USCG, CBP, HSI seize vessel with $28M in illicit narcotics off Miami Beach > United States Coast Guard News > Press Releases
- Coast Guard offloads over $517.5 million in illicit drugs interdicted in Eastern Pacific Ocean > United States Coast Guard News > Press Releases
- U.S. Coast Guard’s Operation Pacific Viper Records Seizure of 100,000 Pounds of Cocaine
- Cocaine smuggling by sea: a growing practice - Maritimes Crimes
Every time it was said
3 times, Sep 22, 2026 to Oct 15, 2026 · 3 misleading
Misleading
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