Speaker 1 (00:01):
… Admiral Kevin Lunday. That is spelled K-E-V-I-N L-U-N-D-A-Y. Acting commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
(00:12)
Rear admiral Joshua Lasky. That is spelled J-O-S-H-U-A L-A-S-K-Y. Deputy Director of Joint Interagency Taskforce South.
(00:24)
And Captain Jonathan Carter. That is spelled J-O-N-A-T-H-A-N C-A-R-T-E-R. Commanding officer of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stone.
(00:36)
We will begin with brief statements from each of these leaders, and then we will open the floor to your questions. Following the speakers remarks, we will have an opportunity for about 10 minutes during which you and the media may ask one question, and one followup to allow for an opportunity for each of the outlets to have a chance to ask a question.
(00:53)
At the conclusion of the press briefing, our public affairs staff will also be available to assist with any follow-on inquiries, or further needs that you may have.
(01:00)
For those unable to join us today, we will publish a press release with imagery and information about the Stone's interdiction operations later today.
(01:07)
I request that any of the questions that are asked are focused on the Coast Guard's operations in this interdiction. I know that we have several senior leaders up here, and there may be other questions that you have, and we are happy to refer those to the appropriate authority at a different time, but we're focused on Stone's offload today.
(01:20)
Thank you. It is now my pleasure to introduce Secretary Noem.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Thank you. Well, good morning and thank you all for being here. In the first 100 days of President Trump's administration, he's already delivered on his campaign promises of making America safe again, and helping the American people to be more secure as well.
(01:40)
And today we're here to recognize and to witness another milestone in his mission to protect our borders, to protect our communities, and to stop the flow of illicit drugs and trafficking into the United States of America.
(01:53)
Today is a historic day. Here at Port Everglades, over 22.5 tons, or 45,000 pounds of cocaine and 50 pounds of marijuana are valued at over a half a billion dollars, are going to be offloaded and taken out of circulations.
(02:12)
This is an unprecedented seizure of illicit drugs that is the result of 14 different interdictions of drug smuggling vessels off the coasts of Mexico, Central and South America, by the crews of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Stone, and Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk. They've done incredible work here with their crews to remove these drugs out of the system, so, they can be destroyed.
(02:34)
These efforts were coordinated with the helicopter tactical squadron air crews that you see with us today as well, tactical team Pacific law enforcement detachments that were involved, and partner agencies that are operating in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
(02:49)
The brave men and women of the Coast Guard do work every single day, 24/7, and they do it with excellence. Their dedication, their resilience, and their patriotism is something that we all can admire, and does not go unnoticed.
(03:02)
Their core mission is simple, but it's incredibly crucial. It's to secure our territorial waters, and to safeguard our nation from those who seek to do us harm.
(03:11)
Their mission directly aligns with President Trump's vision to make America safe and strong again. And thanks to the Coast Guard's relentless maritime security, and their interdiction efforts, $517 million worth of illegal drugs will never reach American communities here by what you see today as a result of these weeks of work.
(03:33)
That means that fewer families are going to be torn apart by addiction, that fewer lives are going to be lost to overdoses, that communities will be safer, and fewer resources will be at the hands of dangerous, violent cartels that seek to do all of us harm.
(03:47)
This action is a testimony to President Trump's commitment to delivering for the American people, and he has unwavering dedication to our military strength, to our border security. Our law enforcement are producing incredible results, and his leadership is making America safe again.
(04:05)
I want to thank all of the leadership teams I have behind me, but also those that are here today that have taken part in these interdiction efforts. They've done incredible work, and the Coast Guard has partnered with many other agencies that you see represented here today to do this work. And it's that kind of cooperation which helps our country be successful in going after these dangerous criminals.
(04:25)
In just the last month, decisive action was taken to secure the extradition of 29 different Mexican drug cartel bosses to face justice in the United States.
(04:35)
Today's massive drug seizure is further proof of that work. We are cleaning up our communities from drugs like fentanyl, and cocaine, and marijuana, the dangerous substances that fuel addiction, crime, and destroy lives. We're protecting American people, and we're also making sure that cartels are not profiting from the trafficking of these drugs, and preventing violence in our communities.
(04:59)
Under President Trump's leadership, we are dedicated to also making sure we're addressing the needs of the Coast Guard, making sure that they have the resources that they need, the equipment, the support, and the training, and the infrastructure to come into the next century protecting and defending our country.
(05:15)
They are the premiere law enforcement maritime agency in the world, and our support in what we provide for them to do that with is incredibly important. That means that we are going to maintain our vast maritime domain, and that we're going to ensure that we continue to lead the way.
(05:33)
Thank you to all of those in the Coast Guard, the other agencies partnering with us today for your work in preventing drug smuggling, and all that you've done to bring these drugs offline. So, that they can be taken out of our communities, and to stop hostile activities before they get to our shores.
(05:49)
May God bless each and every one of you, and may God continue to bless the great United States of America. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (06:01):
Good morning. Around us right now is over half a billion dollars worth of cocaine, that had we not stopped it would have been headed for our communities.
(06:12)
In the last two months since the 20th of January, the U.S. Coast Guard, working with others, has seized over 80,000 pounds of drugs.
(06:21)
Now while this Cutter and crew were headed home after a long patrol to their families, the rest of the Coast Guard remains deployed conducting operations and on mission.
(06:31)
America's Coast Guard controls, secures, and defends our U.S. border and maritime approaches. We're a part of the Department of Homeland Security team that protects our nation, and, at the same time, at all times, we're a military service and part of the joint force that defends it.
(06:46)
We start at the southern border of the United States where the president has declared a national emergency, and extend our operations to the entire U.S. border and approaches, including far at sea, to interdict those threats before they reach our shores.
(07:00)
On the water and in the air, the Coast Guard serves alongside our teammates from the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, and Department of Defense, and our international partners to fight for the foreign terrorist organizations, including these cartels, that bring, or try to bring fentanyl and cocaine into the U.S.
(07:19)
Under the president's orders and our secretary's direction, we are ensuring 100% operational control of the border. Our message to these cartels is this, "We own the sea, not you. We will find you out there, and we will take you down before you reach our border." That's what the Cutter Stone has done, and their crew, and we are proud of their accomplishments, and proud to serve with them.
(07:43)
Thank you, and Semper Paratus.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Good morning. Good morning, Madam Secretary, Commandant.
(07:55)
I just want to thank everybody for the opportunity to come here, and say thanks today. When you work at giant of the south, you have a tremendous opportunity to see how our government comes together to deal with this challenging problem.
(08:07)
Each of our military services, all of the law enforcement agencies under the Department of Homeland Security, law enforcement and the attorneys under the Department of Justice, and 22 Central, South American, and European partners come together every day to find, and stop these movements of illicit drugs trying to reach the shores of the United States.
(08:29)
It's work that is about dismantling the cartels, who are polydrug, who do not just traffic in cocaine, but traffic in fentanyl and other harmful substances, and activities as well, and it is about saving American lives.
(08:43)
Cocaine killed 25,000 American citizens last year. That's roughly equivalent to the small town of Dania, Florida just down the road here, and it is incredibly, incredibly important work.
(08:58)
On this day, in particular, we owe a great debt of gratitude to our Coast Guard, and to the Coast Guard Cutter Stone for taking another 20 metric tons of this harmful substance off the seas.
(09:09)
And let me just put that in context for you a little bit, 20 metric tons is, roughly, equivalent to 17 million lethal doses of cocaine. So, thank yo, Madam Secretary, and thank you, Commandant, and thank you, Skipper.
(09:26)
And with that, let me hand it over to the man of the hour, Captain Carter.
Speaker 5 (09:33):
I'm clearly not the man of the hour, Admiral. In fact, out of everybody up here, I'm the least important person, but I think I have the most important message, which is to share with you stories about this incredible Cutter, and, more importantly, her incredible crew.
(09:46)
Stone's crew, some of whom you will meet later this morning, and are standing in the audience, is comprised of Stone's organic sailors, members from the Pacific Area law enforcement team, pilots, air crew, and aviation maintainers from the Coast Guard's helicopter tactical interdiction squadron, and intelligence professionals, and skilled operators of our unmanned aerial system.
(10:08)
These detachments, effectively, bonded to form a highly skilled and motivated unit tasked to secure our nation's borders, and curb the flow of illicit narcotics.
(10:18)
This remarkable group of individuals was responsible for 12 at sea interdiction, seizing approximately 45,000 pounds of cocaine valued at $510 million. That's the most amount of cocaine seized by any Cutter during a single deployment.
(10:38)
They combined with other Cutters and international partners to set a new record for narcotics seized in a single month removing approximately 121,000 pounds of contraband in the month of January.
(10:52)
This offload also represents the efforts from Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk, who seized approximately 2200 pounds of cocaine, and 330 pounds of marijuana.
(11:03)
But it's what you won't see today that makes me incredibly proud to be the commanding officer of this ship, and this crew. What we can't show you today are crews saying goodbye to their families on Thanksgiving. I know some crew members had Thanksgiving on Thursday, and Santa Claus came on Friday, and they reported to the Cutter on Saturday. That's how long we've been away from our families.
(11:29)
We can't show you what it's like to mentally and physically have to manage separation, and they've been separated from their loved ones for four months.
(11:38)
We can't show you the dangers of flying a nighttime sortie with zero illumination on drug traffickers that are trying to flee prosecution. We can't show you what it's like to conduct high-speed boat operations at night, or have to sit on a disabled drug trafficking vessel in uncomfortable sea states for six, and eight hour periods.
(12:03)
In one exceptional case, the crew interdicted four narco trafficking vessels in a span of 15 minutes seizing nearly 11,000 pounds of cocaine. That cocaine will never be mixed with deadly fentanyl, or threaten American lives here at home.
(12:22)
These are the men and women of our United States Coast Guard, and I'm proud to say they're sailors onboard Coast Guard Cutter Stone. They understand that service entails sacrifice, and in the U.S. Coast Guard, that means serving in, on, or over the water to save those in peril, and to safeguard our homeland.
(12:40)
So, I want to get to your questions, but I will leave you with this, there are sailors walking about, and I do want to get to your questions, but if you see them, if you get to talk to them, please thank them for their service, because the sacrifices that they make, day in and day out are truly incredible.
(12:56)
Thank you for being here, Madam Secretary, Commandant. Thank you for being here. Admirals, thank you very much, and welcome aboard Coast Guard Cutter Stone. We'll now take your questions.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
Thanks, John.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Thank you, all. As promised, we have about 10 minutes for questions. Please, if you have a specific recipient of the question, let me know.
(13:14)
Please.
Speaker 6 (13:14):
[inaudible 00:13:15].
Speaker 2 (13:23):
We're going to keep this press conference on topic, focusing on the Coast Guard, and all of their works to what they've done to bring this drugs offline, and to focus on their interdiction efforts today.
Speaker 6 (13:34):
If I can ask a followup, Secretary, [inaudible 00:13:35] is there a concern that [inaudible 00:13:35] US/Mexican border [inaudible 00:13:43]?
Speaker 2 (13:49):
I do know that there are some lawmakers that are concerned about that. And so, we're certainly working with them to address their concerns. We've seen some evidence to it, but we also know that other areas of our border have been threatened as well.
(14:01)
We've seen the cartels get much more desperate lately. As the border has become more secure, and they're not able to follow their traditional routes of trafficking drugs and humans, and conducting their violent activities into the country, they become more desperate and we've see more interactions.
(14:17)
And, obviously, you've heard on the news and in reports, and in factual information too, that even violent activities against our law enforcement officers, and those in the military have been escalated, sometimes up to 200%, to 300% in some areas, because of what these and those who perpetuate crimes, how they're feeling today with a focus on securing our nation.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Thank you very much. As a reminder, the focus is on the Stone's interdiction. So, please keep your questions to that, and also please announce your outlet as you ask your question.
(14:50)
Please.
Speaker 7 (14:50):
[inaudible 00:14:51].
Speaker 3 (15:08):
Great. Thank you for the question. So, the Stone is one of the Coast Guard Cutters, and aircraft that are continually deployed, not only along the U.S. border, but in the maritime approaches on the high seas approaching it to interdict threats.
(15:20)
I can't be specific about how many Cutters are on patrol where, because that's, certainly, something that cartels would want to know. But we are part of a broad U.S. government effort that joins with the rest of Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, and others to present those forces necessary to present 100% operational control of the border.
(15:39)
And that happens, certainly, on the southern border, not just the southwest land border, but the maritime border there, and this southeast border that approaches Florida.
(15:48)
We are just as on guard here as anywhere else along that southern border. Thank you.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Yup.
Speaker 8 (15:55):
[inaudible 00:15:57].
Speaker 2 (16:02):
Well, and, again, we're going to focus today on Coast Guard Cutter Stone, and their work with Mohawk and the rest of the teams on what they've been able to accomplish today at bringing security to our country.
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Thank you, Ma'am. Again, if you do have those followups, please connect with our public affairs specialist after. We will connect you with the appropriate office to answer your inquiries that are unrelated to Stone's interdictions.
(16:26)
Next question? Yes.
Speaker 9 (16:30):
Hi. Madam Secretary, [inaudible 00:16:31].
Speaker 1 (16:45):
Respectfully, again, I ask that the questions are kept to the Coast Guard Cutter Stone, and the Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk's interdictions. There is definitely an opportunity at a later time. Not the focus of this press conference to have other questions, and we're happy to take those, and refer them to the appropriate authority.
(17:00)
Any other questions about the interdiction, or our nearly half a billion dollar drug offload today?
Speaker 10 (17:05):
[inaudible 00:17:07].
Speaker 1 (17:23):
I don't have a media staff for you, sir. We can connect with Embassy Six afterwards, and we're happy to give some background on that. Certainly, we would like to highlight these interdiction cases, and the success of our operations downrange.
Speaker 11 (17:38):
[inaudible 00:17:36] Madam Secretary, as the border becomes more secure [inaudible 00:17:43]?
Speaker 3 (17:51):
Thank you for the question. The U.S. Southern border is a system, and it's interconnected, which is why a team approach across that system is so critical.
(17:59)
So, as we see greater control on the legal crossings and attempted smuggling across the U.S. southwest land border, we can expect that those cartels will try and get their drugs, or remove people a different way.
(18:11)
And that's why a continued presence, operational presence, and enforcement to ensure we have 100% control of the entire border at all times is so critical.
Speaker 11 (18:20):
Thank you, sir. [inaudible 00:18:21] administration?
Speaker 3 (18:34):
I would just say that the cartels that we are focused on combating and addressing, many of which have been designated by the president as foreign terrorist organizations, they are dynamic, and they adjust to our tactics.
(18:46)
And so, it's a continual effort as they shift to counter them at every turn.
Speaker 1 (18:55):
Thank you. Any additional questions?
Speaker 12 (18:59):
Captain, [inaudible 00:19:00].
Speaker 5 (19:13):
Sure. Yeah. Thank you for that question. It takes a lot to stop people trying to flee prosecution, and some of the tactics that we use are we do employ warning shots, and disabling fire from our helicopters when they fail to yield to just being in the proximity of the Coast Guard.
(19:34)
And so, many of the cases do require disabling fire. We execute the safe employment of force, and then we dispose of those go fast vessels at sea as hazards to the navigation.
(19:46)
And so, yes. Sometimes it is a souvenir to take those back, and display those just as we're proudly displaying the actual contraband themselves.
(19:56)
So, if the Coast Guard has a flaw, we make this mission look easy. It's not easy, and the Commandant was talking about tactics changing. We have to keep up with those changing tactics.
(20:06)
In the case where I spoke about four go-fasts interdicted simultaneously, they were transiting in a diamond formation, all four having contraband out and on deck.
(20:20)
That is us changing the behavior of these drug trafficking organizations. It's due to persistent presence, and it's due to our successful tactics.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Thank you. We do have time for, at least, one, or two more, if someone has a question pertaining to the offload.
(20:41)
If not, then I thank you all for your time. There are still Coast Guard public affairs specialists available, if you have pull asides, or one-on-ones with members of the Coast Guard Cutter Stone crew who may be available. Please link up with one of the uniformed Coast Guard public affairs specialists for those opportunities.
(20:55)
Thank you, all, and you may continue to film B-roll and backside. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Thanks, Commander.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (21:12):
Thank you, Madam Secretary.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
Thank you.
Speaker 5 (21:12):
Do you want to go onboard?
