The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, announced on social networks what he described as the “Largest drug seizure in history” of his country.
In an operation led by the National Navy, authorities intercepted the multipurpose support ship FMS EAGLE, an imposing 54-meter-long vessel flying the Tanzanian flag, which was sailing 380 nautical miles southwest of the Salvadoran coast with a cargo of 6.6 tons of pure cocaine.
The president explained that the success of the seizure was possible thanks to the expertise of military divers, who submerged to inspect the ship’s ballast tanks, where 330 packages of the illicit substance were hidden.
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According to official calculations, the value of the shipment on the black market amounts to $165 million dollars.
“Another strong blow to drug trafficking”said Bukele, whose government has maintained an upward trend in seizures, surpassing the record figures of 2025, the year in which more than 25 tons of narcotics were seized.
In the procedure, 10 people who made up the international crew were captured, including four Colombian citizens, three Nicaraguans, two Panamanians and one Ecuadorian.
This operation adds to the streak of forceful blows that the Salvadoran authorities have carried out so far in 2026, where shipments valued at more than $70 million dollars have already been recovered before this mega discovery.
The detainees and the African ship were placed at the disposal of the judicial authorities to begin the corresponding judicialization process.
Our National Navy has made the largest drug seizure in the history of El Salvador.
At 380 nautical miles (703.7 kilometers) southwest of our coasts, the Multipurpose Support Vessel (supply vessel/tug) FMS EAGLE, 180 feet long (54… pic.twitter.com/1sRcsGz7dZ
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) February 16, 2026
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