El Salvador seizes record 6.68 tonnes of cocaine in Pacific operation

El Salvador's navy confiscated 6.68 tonnes of cocaine during two Pacific patrols, a haul valued at about $167 million. The seizure brings the total amount intercepted in the country since the start of the year to roughly 13 tonnes. Six suspected smugglers—identified as nationals of Colombia and Ecuador—were arrested. President Nayib Bukele described the bust as the "heaviest blow against drug trafficking" in the nation's history. While El Salvador does not produce cocaine, it serves as a transit corridor for shipments moving from South America across the Pacific toward North America.

The operation underscores the government's focus on combating organized crime and drug smuggling, a centerpiece of Bukele's security agenda, and has rattled regional trafficking networks.