Last Monday, March 27th, the Salvadoran Navy seized 1.2 tons of cocaine valued at $30 million on the Salvadoran coast. The operation took place 963 kilometers away, making it the farthest drug seizure in the country’s history.

The boat carrying the drugs was a Low Profile Vessel (LPV) with three Colombian crew members. Most of the drugs seized in the international waters monitored by El Salvador come from Colombia and Ecuador, according to anti-narcotics authorities.

Nuestra Fuerza Naval acaba de incautar un LPV a 520 Millas Náuticas de la Bocana el Cordoncillo, Estero de Jaltepeque, con 3 tripulantes de nacionalidad colombiana.

Se estima que contiene aproximadamente 1.2 toneladas de cocaína, valoradas en unos 30 millones de dólares. pic.twitter.com/QiuOEDedck

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 28, 2023

El Salvador has been one of the countries that has fought the most against drug trafficking in the region. According to Insight Crime, in the last year, El Salvador was the country that seized the most drugs in the Northern Triangle, with a total of 12 tons of cocaine. In total, 28.6 tons of different drugs have been seized throughout the national territory since June 2019, surpassing the amount of narcotics confiscated in the five years of the last FMLN administration, which totaled 23.1 tons.

The Defense Minister, René Merino Monroy, highlighted that the drugs are valued at $629.47 million, including cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamines seized in different procedures throughout the country. Additionally, in 2021, Salvadoran authorities seized 13,020 kilograms of different drugs valued at more than $350 million.

The country has been internationally recognized for its fight against drug trafficking, thanks to the effective work of the Navy and the National Civil Police in confiscating million-dollar shipments of cocaine passing in front of the Salvadoran coast en route to Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States. El Salvador has once again become a reference in the fight against drug trafficking in the region, according to Defense Minister Francis Merino Monroy.

The fight against drug trafficking has been a priority in the management of President Nayib Bukele, who has had a war of words with Colombian President Gustavo Petro over El Salvador’s security strategies that have allowed for a reduction in gang activity. The recent drug seizure adds to the efforts of Salvadoran authorities to ensure security and protect the population from the harmful effects of drug trafficking.