Fact Check: Is Trump's claim that narcotics entering the US by sea dropped by 97% true?
WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump has recently claimed that narcotics entering the US through the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean have dropped by by 97% due to the airstrikes on the vessels. The claim has sparked both praise and criticism, with many questioning its authenticity. Let us analyse and fact-check the president’s claim.
Claim: Narcotics entering the US by sea are down 97%
Trump claimed that they’ve nearly stopped the flow of narcotics trafficked to the US by water, citing dramatic results from US strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.
"With our action in the Gulf of America, that sounds so nice when I hear the Gulf of America, narcotics entering our country by sea are down 97%," Trump said at a January 29 White House event. "So when you see the boats being hit, those boats kill on average 25,000 people a boat."
Even though Trump mentioned the Gulf of America, his comments appeared to reference the Caribbean and Pacific strikes.
Fact Check: Narcotics seizure data aren’t sufficient to make definitive statements
When asked for evidence for the claim, the White House pointed to the Customs and Border Protection statistics from July 2025 to November 2025, which show a 98% drop in the pounds of narcotics seized by CBP air and marine operations.
But narcotics seizures tell us only how many dr*gs are stopped from entering the US, not how many dr*gs are being sent or how many are making it in.
According to dr*g experts, dr*g seizure data aren’t sufficient to make definitive statements about policy outcomes.
"No one knows how much doesn't get caught, so no one can cite a precise percentage change," Jonathan Caulkins, a Carnegie Mellon University dr*g policy researcher, said.
"Trump is making a claim about something unknowable."
CBP narcotics seizures have dropped since September 2025, though the decline varies by month. However, the Coast Guard, which handles most maritime seizures, reported a 200% increase in cocaine seizures in fiscal year 2025 compared to its annual average.
Latest US strike on suspected narcotics boat
On Feb. 23, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known… pic.twitter.com/XUHImPAZik
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) February 23, 2026
The US military said Monday that it carried out a strike on a boat accused of smuggling dr*gs in the Caribbean Sea, killing three men.
The boat was "transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations," the US Southern Command said in a statement on X.
"Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed."
The administration hasn’t provided any evidence that the vessels it has struck were carrying dr*gs that have sparked criticisms.
