'A Historic Day': Kristi Noem Celebrates 'Unprecedented' Seizure Of Illicit Drugs By The Coast Guard

2 days ago

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem praised the work of the Coast Guard in preventing the entry of illegal drugs into the US.

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Transcript

00:00Well, good morning and thank you all for being here.

00:02In the first 100 days of President Trump's administration, he's already delivered on

00:07his campaign promises of making America safe again and helping the American people to be

00:11more secure as well.

00:13And today, we're here to recognize and to witness another milestone in his mission to

00:18protect our borders, to protect our communities, and to stop the flow of illicit drugs and

00:23trafficking into the United States of America.

00:26Today is a historic day.

00:28Here at Port Everglades, over 22.5 tons, or 45,000 pounds, of cocaine and 50 pounds

00:36of marijuana are valued at over a half a billion dollars, are going to be offloaded and taken

00:43out of circulation.

00:45This is an unprecedented seizure of illicit drugs that is the result of 14 different interdictions

00:51of drug smuggling vessels off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America by the crews

00:56of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stone and Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk.

01:00They've done incredible work here with their crews to remove these drugs out of the system

01:05so they can be destroyed.

01:07These efforts were coordinated with the Helicopter Tactical Squadron air crews that you see with

01:12us today as well, Tactical Team Pacific Law Enforcement Detachments that were involved

01:17in partner agencies that are operating in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

01:22The brave men and women of the Coast Guard do work every single day, 24-7, and they do

01:27it with excellence.

01:28Their dedication, their resilience and their patriotism is something that we all can admire

01:34and does not go unnoticed.

01:35Their core mission is simple, but it's incredibly crucial.

01:39It's to secure our territorial waters and to safeguard our nation from those who seek

01:42to do us harm.

01:44Their mission directly aligns with President Trump's vision to make America safe and strong

01:49again.

01:50With the help of the U.S. Coast Guard's relentless maritime security and their interdiction

01:54efforts, $517 million worth of illegal drugs will never reach American communities here

02:02by what you see today as a result of these weeks of work.

02:06That means that fewer families are going to be torn apart by addiction, that fewer lives

02:10are going to be lost to overdoses, that communities will be safer and fewer resources will be

02:15at the hands of dangerous, violent cartels that seek to do all of us harm.

02:20This action is a testimony to President Trump's commitment to delivering for the American

02:25people, and he has unwavering dedication to our military strength, to our border security,

02:32our law enforcement are producing incredible results, and his leadership is making America

02:36safe again.

02:37I want to thank all of the leadership teams I have behind me, but also those that are

02:42here today that have taken part in these interdiction efforts.

02:45You've done incredible work, and the Coast Guard has partnered with many other agencies

02:49that you see represented here today to do this work, and it's that kind of cooperation

02:54which helps our country be successful in going after these dangerous criminals.

02:58In just the last month, decisive action was taken to secure the extradition of 29 different

03:03Mexican drug cartel bosses to face justice in the United States.

03:08Today's massive drug seizure is further proof of that work.

03:12We are cleaning up our communities from drugs like fentanyl, and cocaine, and marijuana,

03:18the dangerous substances that fuel addiction, crime, and destroy lives.

03:22We're protecting American people, and we're also making sure that their cartels are not

03:27profiting from the trafficking of these drugs and preventing violence in our communities.

03:33Under President Trump's leadership, we are dedicated to also making sure we're addressing

03:37the needs of the Coast Guard, making sure that they have the resources that they need,

03:41the equipment, the support, and the training, and the infrastructure to come into the next

03:46century protecting and defending our country.

03:48They are the premier law enforcement maritime agency in the world, and our support and what

03:55we provide for them to do that with is incredibly important.

03:59That means that we are going to maintain our vast maritime domain, and that we're going

04:03to ensure that we continue to lead the way.

04:06Thank you to all of those in the Coast Guard, the other agencies partnering with us today

04:11for your work in preventing drug smuggling, and all that you've done to bring these drugs

04:15offline so that they can be taken out of our communities, and to stop hostile activities

04:20before they get to our shores.

04:22May God bless each and every one of you, and may God continue to bless the great United

04:26States of America.

'A Historic Day': Kristi Noem Celebrates 'Unprecedented' Seizure Of Illicit Drugs By The Coast Guard

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