SNIFFER DOGS UNCOVER 14 TONS OF COCAINE AT COLOMBIAN PORT IN LARGEST SEIZURE IN A DECADE. (PHOTO).

Sniffer dogs uncover 14 tons of cocaine at Colombian port in largest seizure in a decade

Colombian authorities on Friday announced the country’s largest cocaine seizure in a decade, revealing that 14 tons of the drug were uncovered at the nation’s main Pacific port with help from a trained canine team. The discovery comes at a tense moment in relations with Washington, which has criticized Colombia’s anti-narcotics strategy and recently imposed financial sanctions on President Gustavo Petro’s government. Officials said the cocaine had been packed into dozens of 110-pound sacks and hidden inside a warehouse, where it was mixed with plaster in an effort to disguise it. According to the Defense Ministry, the seizure prevented roughly 35 million doses of cocaine—worth an estimated $388 million—from reaching international markets.

President Petro said the bust, carried out in the southwestern port city of Buenaventura, marked the biggest drug seizure by Colombian police in ten years and emphasized that the operation occurred without any loss of life. At the same time, he sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s authorization of lethal strikes on suspected drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, calling those attacks unlawful and accusing the U.S. of killing civilians—an allegation the White House denies. Despite record-breaking levels of coca cultivation and cocaine production across Colombia, Petro argues that his administration has increased drug seizures and shared charts claiming a steady upward trend. The major bust follows several recent operations along Colombia’s Pacific coast, including the discovery of more than 450 pounds of cocaine attached beneath a Europe-bound ship and over seven tons seized from speedboats and a semi-submersible vessel earlier this month.