El Salvador seizes 1.4 tons of cocaine floating in the Pacific Ocean

(AFP) El Salvador seized bundles containing 1.4 tons of cocaine floating in the Pacific Ocean, President Nayib Bukele announced Tuesday.

International cartels use Central American territory as a bridge for trafficking drugs, especially cocaine, to the United States.

"Our National Navy strikes again against international drug trafficking," Bukele wrote on X.

The Salvadoran leader said the shipment was located some 900 nautical miles southwest of the Bocana. El Condorcillo, Estero de Jaltepeque on the Salvadoran coast in the Pacific Ocean.

He added that the packages with cocaine, which he valued at some $35 million, "would later be picked up by criminal structures."

Between 2024 and so far in 2025, El Salvador has seized 37.2 tons of cocaine "with an estimated value of $932.4 million," Bukele added.

In a message on its X account, the US embassy in El Salvador highlighted that "each successful action against criminal networks shows that there is a growing synchrony between partners with common goals."

Washington estimates that 90% of the cocaine reaching the United States passes through Mexico and Central America in small planes, boats and mini-submarines.