Attorney General Pam Bondi (00:02):
Gentlemen, thank you. Kash, thank you, Director Patel. And I've got US attorney, acting US attorney, Greg Kehoe, Middle District of Florida, behind me. Thank you all for being here today. Today's operation is an example of the unprecedented collaboration between the military and the Department of Justice components, working closely with the US Coast Guard. And look at all these great men and women in the Coast Guard. Thank you so much for your dedication.
(00:35)
This is a textbook example of the Justice Department supporting the fight against violent crime. These drugs are worth over half-a-billion dollars, almost 45,000 pounds of cocaine, pure cocaine, uncut, and 3,800 pounds of marijuana. Congratulations again to the Coast Guard. You have done incredible work, Admiral, and your team, Captain, in securing these drugs. This team, with all the agencies I just mentioned, used drones, aircraft, and ships to interdict the traffickers off the coast of Peru, Ecuador, and the Galapagos Islands. What they did saved countless American lives, countless lives. This cocaine would've been distributed throughout our country, and perhaps throughout our world.
(01:43)
11 separate prosecutions will take place as a result of this, and they will be prosecuted in the Middle District of Florida. These defendants will be held accountable for bringing this poison into our country. I always say if we can save one life, one life, we have done amazing work, and today we have saved thousands and thousands of lives as a result of this incredible cooperation.
(02:14)
We believe two cartels, CJNG and Sinaloa, were heavily tied to these shipments. This is a major blow to their financial operations and their efforts to distribute drugs throughout our country. It's an example of a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven approach to stopping these criminal enterprises in their tracks. DOJ and all of the agencies involved will continue to dismantle this transnational criminal organization, lock these criminals up, and keep our country safe. The drugs that you seen today will no longer destroy lives. They will help us lock up the criminals. Thank you all, and it is my honor to introduce the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kash Patel.
Kash Patel (03:21):
Thank you all for being here. General Bondi, we're here today because of your dedicated leadership to safeguard American lives because you have the courage to follow President Trump's courage to put our children first and to make sure that the narcotraffickers, and make no mistake, this administration has labeled them foreign terrorist organizations because that's what they are. There is no lethal force on planet Earth that is responsible for an overdose death of an American citizen every seven minutes more so than these federal terrorist organizations, foreign terrorist organizations.
(04:01)
We are humbled to be a part of this Department of Justice, and we are going to continue to safeguard our streets. This is what it looks like when the United States whole-of-government approach brings every resource to bear, from the Department of Defense and the United States Coast Guard, from HSI, from FBI, from DEA, and so many others. They are going to get all the drugs off the streets, off the markets, and as Attorney General Bondi said, we are going to lock them up. They are no longer going to be free to roam. We are going to dismantle the next-man-up theory that has been breeding in these Mexican cartels for generations. No more.
(04:46)
We are here today because of your brave work, the men and women of the FBI that I lead. I'm humbled and honored to be here in South Florida where I spent so much of my career before I moved to Washington DC, and looking around, I'm awe-inspired by the fact that when you take the rules and regulations that blockaded these brave men and women of law enforcement, military, and you unshackle them, then you should look at this seizure and you should see how much it multiplies and see how many children and how many young adults and how many adults' lives that we have just saved. They did it. We're fortunate to be their leaders, we're humbled to be here, and you will see this happen across the country because this is not a one-off for General Bondi. She has made this a mission priority, and the FBI will follow in every corner of this country and every square centimeter of this planet to eradicate the narcotraffickers and the foreign terrorist organization that are killing American citizens. They will be held accountable, we will take preventive measures, and we will scour the ends of the earth to find every single one of them. Thank you so much for being here today.
Speaker 3 (06:08):
Good morning. We welcome the crew of the James, back from a remarkable patrol where they seized $510 million of illegal drugs, that's cocaine and marijuana, that was interdicted at sea before it can reach the US border.
(06:22)
So what does that number actually mean? What does the number besides the dollar sign mean? It means 154 lives saved directly from cocaine-related overdose deaths in this country. It means that there's almost 11,000 less new cocaine users that are going to get access to the drugs. It means that we've saved at least 16-and-a-half million dollars on costs related to inmate care and healthcare for people inflicted with these drugs. And from the Coast Guard standpoint, what this really means is a beautiful ship like the James heralds a new time for us, a new time of assets that impact the United States strategies for countering these cartels in new ways and disrupting the flow of illegal drugs.
(07:08)
Just since February, the combined efforts of Coast Guard Cutters, James, Stone, Waesche, and Mohawk yielded over 59 metric tons of narcotics seized. That's $1.5 billion, $1.5 billion, of revenue to the cartels. This success is a team success made possible through the dedication and coordination of our partners in DHS, DOD, and DOJ.
(07:34)
Every day the Coast Guard controls, secures, and defends the border and maritime approaches of this country, proudly serving as part of DHS at all times and as a military service and part of the armed forces. On the water and in the air, the Coast Guard and our partners are on the front lines to fight against these foreign terrorist organizations, including the cartels and other dangerous criminals who seek to traffic both cocaine, including illegal fentanyl, and other deadly drugs from entering into our communities. Under our DHS leadership, the Coast Guard has worked diligently to harden and secure the US Southern border and maritime approaches.
(08:14)
Our message to the car cartels is simple. We own the sea. You do not. We will find you. We will hunt you down. We will stop you before you reach our border, before you can smuggle these drugs into our country. To the crew of the James you see here and all of our partners gathered, thank you for the great work keeping America safe. Thank you very much, everyone. Semper Paratus.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. It's a privilege to be here today representing Admiral Alvin Holsey in US Southern Command. And first, I just want to say thank you. Attorney General Bondi, Director Patel, Admiral Moore, Captain Rodziewicz, my apologies, and to the crew of the James, the brave men and women of the crew of the James, it's a real privilege to stand with you today.
(09:05)
The most fundamental duty of a DOD organization like US Southern Command is to defend the United States against threats and defend her people, defend her constitution. But this is a threat that by law, policy, design, DOD can't get after alone. It takes a team, and it's a privilege to be part of this team. You've heard the facts of what these amazing men and women have done, what the organizations that these amazing leaders have accomplished, but I just want to say thanks. It is amazing to watch in action the machine that is our government interagency getting after this problem set.
(09:42)
I think it starts and ends with the Department of Justice, the intelligence that we get from the prosecutions, the intelligence we get from the FBI, intelligence we get from other sources, tips and cues us to do the DOD detection and monitoring mission, and then we get the actions on the objective from the brave men and women of the James and crews like them to grab those drugs and bring them back for further prosecution investigation. And it's a virtuous cycle. It's an amazing thing to watch.
(10:11)
At Joint Interagency Task Force South in US Southern Command, it all comes together, with the addition of 14 interagency partners and law enforcement and defense representatives from 21 partner nations. This is an incredible achievement and incredible whole-of-government and partner nation accomplishment. So I'm just proud to be here today and to say thanks to the brave men and women defending our nation. Thank you.
Speaker 5 (10:46):
It's with great pride I stand before you today reflecting on the tremendous accomplishments of Coast Guard Cutter James and the crew. What you see today is a result of the crew executing an unprecedented pace at sea of interdictions. In only 56 days in theater, James interdicted 11 drug-smuggling vessels, seizing over 22-metric-tons of cocaine and marijuana, and apprehending 34 narcotraffickers. In all my years working in this vital mission, I have never witnessed such substantial results in such a short amount of time.
(11:16)
What is not on display, though, is the incredibly challenging work done by our crew that went into these interdictions. We patrolled an area the size of the continental United States. Finding the narcoterrorist's tiny drug-laden vessels across the vast waters of the Eastern Pacific is equivalent to finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. But the crew of the James showed narcoterrorists that we will find them. We showed them that they are no match for the professional competence, technical expertise, and operational prowess of the James crew. We sent a message loud and clear that we can and that we will continue to stop them bringing harm and devastation to our border, or as my ops boss would like to say, "You can run, but you can't hide."
(11:56)
Alongside our permanent party crew members, it's important to mention those who deployed with us, our law enforcement detachment, pilots and air crew, intelligence professionals, and the operators of our unmanned aircraft systems. Together we are James, a team of teams. This team of tirelessly dedicated professionals traded time with family and friends to carry out our vital mission, stopping the flow of illegal drugs, cutting off profits that fueled deadly fentanyl trade, and ultimately protecting American communities and families from unimaginable heartbreak. This crew represents the best of the best, and I'm incredibly proud to serve with all of the dedicated professionals that deployed on James this patrol. Thank you for your time.
Speaker 6 (12:39):
So we have a brief period for a question and answer. Before we open up the question and answer, I'll ask that you raise your hand, and then we'll call on you. Please state which speaker your question is for, what your name is, and which media outlet you're from. And again, as a reminder, we invited you here for the contraband offload, so please keep the questions on topic, related to the maritime interdictions of contraband at sea. So with that, I'll ask a first question over here. Yes, sir.
Evan Brown (13:12):
Evan Brown, Fox News, for the attorney general. Ma'am, this is remarkable, but quite frankly we see this very, very often and we probably will in the future. How do we go from drops in the bucket to buckets, and many buckets? Because this doesn't stop. They don't stop.
Attorney General Pam Bondi (13:32):
Evan, this is not a drop in the bucket. Behind you is half-a-billion dollars of pure cocaine, uncut cocaine. So when they cut this poison with baking soda and whatever else they cut it with, it will multiply even more times than you can imagine. We are saving thousands and thousands of lives. These brave men and women… We often talk about the Coast Guard, and General, we talk about all the time our great men and women in law enforcement, in the military, but sometimes I feel like the Coast Guard is overlooked at how incredibly dangerous your jobs are, so thank you again for what you've done and the countless lives that you have all saved today.
(14:24)
11 defendants are going to be locked up, and if this isn't sending a message loud and clear to Sinaloa and these other cartels, it better be because they know that these men and women, all of these agencies working together, are coming after them. And if there is more, they will find them, and they will arrest them, and we will prosecute them.
Speaker 6 (14:51):
Thank you. Next question? It's in the middle right here.
Speaker 8 (14:56):
If you'll allow me, I do have an on-topic and an off-topic question. On topic, I wanted to ask, can you tell us a little bit more about the 11 defendants who were arrested? Where are they from? What is their role in this operation? And where were these drugs headed?
Attorney General Pam Bondi (15:12):
Have we released that yet, or is it still sealed? Have we released anything about the defendants?
Speaker 9 (15:15):
We have not.
Attorney General Pam Bondi (15:15):
Yeah, still sealed, I'm sorry, about the 11 defendants. But they are tied to the two cartels that we mentioned.
Speaker 8 (15:27):
And then on the Alien Enemies Act, the Supreme Court ruled this week that the immigrants were being removed during [inaudible 00:15:31]. People who were already deported to El Salvador didn't have that chance. What happens to those people now?
Attorney General Pam Bondi (15:39):
Yeah, well, the 261 that were on that… First of all, we're going to stay on topic from here on, but we are talking about the cartels, we're talking about foreign enemies, so I'll gladly answer that. The 261 on that first flight are 261 reasons why our country is safer. They are not coming back. They are staying in a prison in El Salvador. They are not from our country. They are not migrants. They are illegal aliens who are peddling drugs, guns, and illegal money in a very organized way throughout our country, and that's another reason why our country is safer today.
Speaker 6 (16:16):
Again, we have limited time, so please keep the questions on topic, and we will follow up with our appropriate public affairs staff to make sure that your needs are met. Yes, over here.
Alan Austin (16:27):
Hi, Alana Austin with Newsmax. I'm interested in hearing about these cartels. Has this been rattling down internally? Are any of people being taken into custody cooperating and talking about [inaudible 00:16:41]?
Kash Patel (16:47):
As the team mentioned, it is changing the dynamic. The threat dynamic is changing, and you're seeing it here, because it's a collaboration of law enforcement and military intelligence-sharing, along with the intelligence community, that leads to these types of seizures and, as the general and the admiral mentioned, in such speed that they have not seen in their careers. So it is more than rattling them. And it's not just this mission that the Department of Justice is leading here. This is one big example that we want to showcase the work of a team-led interagency process. And that's what it is. No one is taking credit for it. Everyone is putting the mission first, and the people that are hearing that message the loudest are the cartels and CJNG and Sinaloa cartels and the others down in the south of the border. But as these brave men and women have mentioned, there is no border that they will not defend. Every border is an operational offensive, thanks to this interagency process and the brave folks of JIATF South and Southern Command.
Speaker 6 (17:52):
All right, we have time for one more question. Yes, over here.
Ali Bradley (17:54):
Ali Bradley with NewsNation for Attorney General Bondi, please. I'm wondering, so we talked a little bit about where these individuals are from. They've already been designated as terrorists. That wasn't enough to stop them from trying to move those drugs into the country. Cut off the head of a snake and it's going to grow back several more. So are you thinking about threats or charges towards Mexico, towards anything that they're doing in the country to our south when it comes to preventing them from moving those drugs into the US?
Attorney General Pam Bondi (18:22):
Well, I think this sends a very loud message today, Ali. The Sinaloa, all these gangs, TDA, MS-13, the cartels, all of the cartels throughout the world, I would think they're pretty frightened right now based on what's behind us, based on 11 defendants in custody as a result of this one bust, because it's all of these agencies standing behind me, working hand-in-hand with Homeland Security to get them off our streets. You're seeing what's happening. These people are an organized crime unit. And we've shut down the borders in Mexico, Canada, so now I think they're probably increasing through our ships, through our ports, but they're not going to get away with it, thanks to all these great men and women.
(19:09)
It's a multifaceted approach to catching them, as I said, using drones, using aircraft, using any technique available to our military, to Homeland Security, to the FBI, to the DEA, to all of these agencies working together. We are ahead of them, we are going to stop them, and whenever possible, we're going to lock them up forever or get them out of our country to keep Americans safe. That was Donald Trump's directive on day one when he got elected, keep America safe, make America safe, and that's what all of these people standing here today are doing.
Ali Bradley (19:46):
Is Mexico doing enough to prevent this from [inaudible 00:19:51]?
Speaker 6 (19:51):
Thank you. That concludes today's press briefing. If you have any other follow-up questions, a member of the US Coast Guard Public Affairs staff can help meet those. We also will have a news release that will be published this afternoon that summarize all the events as well as has photographs and videos for each of you to access. Thank you very much.
