‘Deranged message’ on National Mall sparks police probe as Trump security fears mount

2026-06-12 14:23 EDT / Fox News

Interior Department vows to hold those responsible accountable as administration interprets the number as a political threat

By Ashley J. DiMella Fox News

Published June 12, 2026 2:23pm EDT

’86 47′ vandalized on National Mall grass near White House

Federal officials investigate ’86 47′ message vandalized into National Mall grass, threatening President Donald Trump. Former FBI Director James Comey faces federal charges for a related Instagram post.

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Law enforcement officials responded to Washington, D.C.’s National Mall on Thursday after a giant “8647” message appeared to be etched into the grass, prompting an investigation as federal authorities remain on heightened alert over political threats and violence.

“The deranged vandalism on our National Mall will not be tolerated,” an Interior Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Any threat against the President is taken very seriously by the Department, and our U.S. Park Police will investigate this incident and hold those responsible accountable.”

The marking was etched into the grass between the Washington Monument and the World War II memorial. The administration has previously interpreted the number “86” as a political threat, pointing to its common use in the restaurant industry to mean removing or refusing service, while 47 appears to refer to Trump as the 47th president.

The administration has previously treated “86 47” messages as threatening, arguing that “86” can mean to get rid of or remove, per restaurant industry slang, while “47” refers to Trump as the 47th president.

EX-FBI CHIEF COMEY’S POST TO ‘86’ TRUMP CONDEMNED BY WHITE HOUSE AS ATTEMPT TO PUT ‘HIT’ ON PRESIDENT

The numbers “86 47” on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial.(Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

U.S. Park Police responded to the incident around noon, FOX 5 reported. Grass samples were also collected for testing and examination in the area by investigators.

“Anyone who engages in or endorses political violence or assassination culture must be condemned in the harshest terms possible,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital. “They should also immediately seek psychiatric help to treat their severe and debilitating case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has warped their brains and made them sick in the head.”

The incident took place days before Trump’s birthday on Sunday, which coincides with the UFC Freedom Fight taking place on the South Law, which is expected to attract 4,000 spectators to the White House.

The Ultimate Fighting Championship was set up near the Lincoln Memorial for a weigh-in event on Friday.

America’s 250th birthday brings major events to the nation’s capital as D.C. braces for massive crowds, tight security, road closures and heightened law enforcement presence.

FROM RALLY GUNFIRE TO WHITE HOUSE SHOOTING, THREATS AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP CONTINUE TO MOUNT

The numbers “86 47” on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial.(Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Trump has repeatedly been targeted by violence, including just in April at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner.

There were two assassination attempts on Trump’s life in 2024, beginning in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a bullet grazed his ear after a gunman climbed onto a roof during a rally on July 13, 2024.

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There will be a UFC Freedom Fight taking place at the south lawn brining 4,000 spectators to the White House.(Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

The incident comes amid heightened administration scrutiny of “86 47” messages after the Department of Justice charged former FBI Director James Comey over a similar message.

Comey was charged with two federal counts over an Instagram post last year showing seashells arranged to read “86 47,” and faces a maximum 10 years in prison if convicted. Comey has denied wrongdoing, saying he did not intend the post as a call for violence and removed it once critics interpreted it as a threat.

Ashley J. DiMella reports on politics for Fox News Digital.

U.S. military making plans to secure Iran’s nuclear materials if deal is reached, sources say

June 12, 2026 2:18 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — Amid volatile diplomacy and tit-for-tat strikes between the United States and Iran, American military planners have discussed contingencies that would involve U.S. forces helping secure Iran’s nuclear materials if a deal is reached, according to U.S. officials familiar with knowledge of the ongoing planning.

The discussions, which remain preliminary and are contingent on a range of battlefield and political developments, center on how the Pentagon could support the Department of Energy in seizing Tehran’s highly enriched uranium, the officials told CBS News, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss national security issues.

Under one scenario reviewed by defense officials, U.S. troops would be deployed to several countries across the Middle East to support a rapid response operation. Specialized teams from the Department of Energy, working alongside American military personnel and other U.S. government agencies, could then enter Iran to locate, secure and remove stockpiles of enriched uranium, the officials said.

Before an American F-15E Strike Eagle was shot down back in April, triggering a major combat search and rescue effort, Pentagon officials had examined a similar concept involving the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Emergency Support Team, known as NEST, according to the officials. The proposal also envisioned participation from U.S. Special Operations forces and the Army’s 20th Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives Command, which specializes in countering weapons of mass destruction and hazardous materials.

The officials told CBS News that the discussions do not represent a decision to conduct an operation. Rather, they are part of routine military contingency planning.

A senior administration official told reporters on a call Friday that under the terms of a deal, which could be signed in the coming days, Iran’s enriched uranium would be “destroyed on site and then taken out of the country.”

There will be a “technical process to figure that out,” the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Technical negotiations are slated to last 60 days, after a memorandum of understanding is signed, the official said.

Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.

Former star US bond manager Kenneth Leech pleads guilty to obstructing ‘cherry-picking’ probe

2026-06-12 16:20:16 UTC / Reuters

By Jonathan Stempel

June 12, 2026 4:20 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago

Signage is seen at the headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. Picture taken May 12, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo/File Photo

• Defendant admitted to obstructing SEC probe, fraud charges dropped
• Former employer Wamco accepted $100 million SEC civil penalty
• Leech accused of allocating trades after seeing how they performed

NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters) – Kenneth Leech, a former star bond manager at Western Asset Management Co, pleaded ‌guilty on Friday to obstructing a probe into alleged “cherry-picking,” the assigning of profitable trades to favored investors and losing trades to other investors.

Leech admitted to one count of obstructing, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proceeding, ​averting a scheduled Monday trial in Manhattan federal court.

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The former co-chief investment officer of ​Wamco, as his former employer is known, had faced four fraud charges ⁠for allegedly orchestrating a more than $600 million cherry-picking scheme from January 2021 to October 2023. ​Those charges will be dropped.

Prosecutors accused Leech of lying during sworn SEC testimony in March ​2024, when he answered yes when asked if he had “an allocation in mind” when placing trades.

Leech, 72, could face six to 12 months in prison under recommended federal sentencing guidelines, much less than if he ​were convicted of fraud.

His lawyers declined to comment. A spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton ​in Manhattan had no immediate comment.

Wamco agreed on June 5 to pay a $100 million civil penalty to resolve SEC ‌civil ⁠charges it failed to properly supervise Leech.

The asset manager did not admit wrongdoing.

Wamco is part of Franklin Resources BEN.N, whose brands include Franklin Templeton.

LEECH ALLEGEDLY USED FIRST-DAY PERFORMANCE TO ASSIGN TRADES

Authorities said Leech waited to see how trades performed on their first day before retroactively allocating them ​to clients to boost ​Wamco revenue and his ⁠own compensation.

Leech allegedly steered trades that performed well to “Macro Opportunities” portfolios that he said reflected his best ideas, and worse trades to “Core” and “Core ​Plus” portfolios.

Prosecutors said Leech became particularly focused on supporting Macro Opportunities ​portfolios after ⁠they lost money on Russian debt in 2022 and Credit Suisse debt in 2023.

Leech was indicted in November 2024, three months after Wamco put him on leave. His sentencing is expected in ⁠September.

Wamco suffered ​large outflows after probes into Leech became public.

It ended ​March with $228.9 billion of assets under management, down 40% from June 2024.

Franklin, based in San Mateo, California, ended March ​with $1.68 trillion of assets under management.

Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Mark Porter

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Jan. 6 debanking probe once floated as way to pad anti-weaponization fund

2026-06-12T17:29:32.029Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/12/politics/anti-weaponization-fund-debanking-probe-trump

A Justice Department probe examining whether some of the nation’s biggest banks closed accounts of defendants charged in the 2021 Capitol riot and others for political reasons had been raised to the Trump administration as a way to support it’s efforts to compensate people the president claims were victims of weaponization, according to people briefed on the matter.

Some of the president’s allies in recent months have suggested to administration officials that any possible settlements from the debanking probe could be used to compensate Trump supporters who the president believes suffered financial harm because of their involvement in the January 6 attack, the people familiar with the matter said.

The idea was among other funding mechanisms discussed, according to people familiar with the matter.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche earlier this month backed off plans to set up a nearly $1.8 billion fund as part of an agreement under which President Donald Trump withdrew a lawsuit against the IRS over a 2019 leak of his tax records. Despite bipartisan backlash against the fund — which was initially supposed to be backed by the US Treasury — Trump has said he hasn’t abandoned the idea of finding a way to compensate his supporters who he claims were unfairly targeted by the government.

The next iteration of a funding mechanism to compensate people who believe they were harmed by the Justice Department may not be called the “anti-weaponization fund” — or be bankrolled by the government itself — but the goal remains the same, according to people familiar.

Even before the concept of a formal fund, people who believe they have been wrongly prosecuted by the government have the ability to sue the government and receive compensation in the form of settlements.

As many as 10 banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase, are the subject of an ongoing probe since last year that has focused on so-called debanking of Trump supporters and conservatives, the people briefed on the matter said.

The president last August issued an executive order targeting banks that he said engaged “in unacceptable practices to restrict law-abiding individuals’ and businesses’ access to financial services on the basis of political or religious beliefs or lawful business activities.”

Subpoenas issued in recent months by prosecutors in District of Columbia US Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office are the latest indicator of the administration’s interest in finding a way to punish banks for closing accounts, including those belonging to the president and the Trump Organization.

The probe is focused on whether banks discriminated against conservatives and industries disfavored by the Biden administration, including people who were involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol, the people familiar with the probe said.

Pirro said that her investigation has nothing to do with the “anti-weaponization fund.”

“Bringing justice to those who have been previously debanked has absolutely nothing to do with anything else,” she told CNN in a statement. “The American people deserve financial institutions that won’t cancel them for their political or religious views. The absurdity of this question is reflected in the fact our subpoenas were issued nine months before the weaponization fund was even discussed.”

The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the subpoenas issued by Pirro’s office.

“This shouldn’t happen to Republicans, it shouldn’t happen to Democrats – it shouldn’t have happened to anyone,” Pirro’s statement added. “And I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

Trump and his company have separately filed lawsuits against some banks who ended banking relationships after January 6, 2021.

Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo have declined to comment for this story.

Prosecutors are examining whether the banks’ conduct violated a number of laws including the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act, which allows financial penalties for fraud and other violations, according to one person briefed on the matter.

US banking regulators in recent months have issued new guidelines removing the use of “reputation risk,” which Trump administration critics say were used to debank the president’s supporters, as a factor in assessing banking practices.

In court this week, Justice Department lawyers assured a federal judge that the government was no longer pursuing the program announced last month. Federal Judge Richard Leon rejected requests from a watchdog group to intervene in the matter, saying “This case appears to be moot,” though he warned the government: “Don’t play possum with this court.”

The banks previously were also scrutinized by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which in December issued a preliminary finding that nine major banks “made inappropriate distinctions among customers in the provision of financial services on the basis of their lawful business activities.”

The OCC review followed Trump’s executive order which said that “some financial institutions participated in Government-directed surveillance programs targeting persons participating in activities and causes commonly associated with conservatism and the political right following the events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.”

The OCC has said that its review is ongoing, which is separate from the probe led by Pirro’s office. A spokeswoman for the OCC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Judge denies last-minute attempt to stop removal of Trump’s name from Kennedy Center

2026-06-12T14:20:00-0400 / CBS News

By

Updated on: June 12, 2026 / 2:25 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington — A federal judge on Friday denied a last-minute attempt by the Trump administration to stop the removal of President Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center, following an earlier order that set a deadline of Friday for the name to come down.

U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper determined last month that the president’s name was illegally added to The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and ordered that it be removed. The Trump administration said it would appeal that ruling on Thursday. On Friday, Cooper denied a request for a stay of his permanent injunction pending appeal, meaning his order won’t be paused and the deadline stands.

Cooper laid out his reasoning for denying the request for a stay in a brief order.

“Most notably, for the detailed reasons laid out in the Court’s initial ruling, Defendants have not ‘made a strong showing that [they] are likely to succeed on the merits’ of any appeal,” the judge wrote. “Nor have Defendants demonstrated that they ‘will be irreparably injured absent a stay.’”

Workers were seen erecting scaffolding outside the Kennedy Center under its name on Friday.

Workers stand on scaffolding outside the Kennedy Center on June 12, 2026, ahead of a deadline to remove President Trump’s name from the building. Alex WROBLEWSKI /AFP via Getty Images

The center, run by a Trump-aligned board of trustees, voted in December to add the president’s name to the institution, rebranding it as the Trump-Kennedy Center. The center is the premier arts venue in the nation’s capital and was established by Congress as a memorial to President John F. Kennedy.

A Democratic member of Congress who sits on the board challenged the move in court. In May, Cooper ruled that only Congress could approve a name change to the institution and set a deadline of June 12 for complying with his order.

Earlier this month, CBS News reported that lawyers for the center were instructing staff to immediately begin the process of switching the name of the facility back to its original title. The instructions were laid out in a memo sent by the center’s general counsel and obtained by CBS News.

Cooper’s original order also blocked plans by the administration and trustees to close the center for nearly two years for major renovations.

The Kennedy Center’s website has already removed the president’s name from much of its online material.

Mr. Trump made moves to put his mark on the center soon after his return to office last year, removing Democratic-appointed members of the board and installing allies and top administration officials instead. The president and his allies also sought to make changes to the types of performances at the institution.

Melissa Quinn and Katrina Kaufman contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: ICE nabs multiple convicted killers in single day amid nationwide immigration sweep

June 12, 2026 3:30pm EDT / Fox News

Arrests span from New York to California, with convictions including manslaughter, rape and meth trafficking

By Alexandra Koch Fox News

Fox News Flash top headlines for June 12

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FIRST ON FOX: Federal immigration agents arrested several convicted killers, a rapist and multiple drug traffickers in a single day Thursday, underscoring the Trump administration’s push to target what Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials call the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal immigrants living in the U.S.

“Yesterday, [Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] arrested multiple murderers, rapists, and drug traffickers from our communities,” Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital.

“Nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S.,” she said. “Every day, our officers are putting their lives on the line to remove criminals from our communities.”

According to DHS, Thursday’s arrests include:

DHS ARRESTS 5 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CONVICTED OF VIOLENT CRIMES INCLUDING MANSLAUGHTER, CHILD ASSAULT

Roque Cinto-Mejia, of Mexico, is convicted of manslaughter.(DHS)

Roque Cinto-Mejia

Roque Cinto-Mejia, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, is convicted of manslaughter in Brooklyn, New York.

Alejandro De Jesus-De La Cruz, of Mexico, is convicted of voluntary manslaughter.(DHS)

Alejandro De Jesus-De La Cruz

Alejandro De Jesus-De La Cruz, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, is convicted of voluntary manslaughter in San Bernardino, California.

Francisco Antonio Morales-Acencio, of Guatemala, is convicted of rape and assault and battery of a family member.(DHS)

Francisco Antonio Morales-Acencio

Francisco Antonio Morales-Acencio, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala, is convicted of rape, assault and battery of a family member in Fairfax, Virginia.

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Heriberto Mendoza-Pineda, of Mexico, is convicted of trafficking meth.(DHS)

Heriberto Mendoza-Pineda

Heriberto Mendoza-Pineda, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, is convicted of trafficking methamphetamine in Gwinnett County, Georgia.

Manuel Soto, of the Dominican Republic, is convicted of multiple drug charges.(DHS)

Manuel Soto

Manuel Soto, an illegal immigrant from the Dominican Republic, was twice convicted of drug possession and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute in Boston, Massachusetts.

Alexandra Koch is a Fox News Digital journalist who covers breaking news, with a focus on high-impact events that shape national conversation.

She has covered major national crises, including the L.A. wildfires, Potomac and Hudson River aviation disasters, Boulder terror attack, and Texas Hill Country floods.

Ohio voting rights group facing criminal fraud investigation, sources say

2026-06-12T14:59:34-0400 / CBS News

By Katrina Kaufman
June 12, 2026 / 2:59 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington— The FBI executed a search warrant at the office of an Ohio-based community grassroots group known for its voter registration work as part of an ongoing fraud-related investigation, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.

The target of the search, the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, is a civil rights organization that works to register voters and advocates for criminal and economic justice reform.

Around the same time the search warrant was executed on Thursday, federal agents also started showing up at the homes of employees and volunteers to interview them as part of the probe, said Prentiss Haney, a board member of the Ohio Organizing Collaborative who was authorized to discuss the matter for the group.

The search, and the attempts to interview people affiliated with the group, were reported earlier by MS Now.

Haney said that the questions from the agents appeared to be focused on voter fraud.

Haney called the law enforcement operation an “assault” against civil rights groups that work to engage people in the democratic process.

He said there were “over 125 agents” who went to the homes of volunteers, civil rights leaders, community leaders and staffers.

“They were following people in their cars. Following kids to school. They were knocking on doors. Calling the phone. Demanding to come into houses to get phones without warrants,” he said.

A DOJ official declined to discuss the details of the Ohio case, saying the search warrant affidavit remains under seal.

“Search warrants are authorized by a judge and anything said by any organization or others in the media is unfounded speculation, as the target of any investigation is not privy to the search warrant affidavit until after the indictment,” the official said in a statement.

The questions from the agents about voter fraud come at a time when the Justice Department has more broadly sought to investigate cases of voter fraud across the United States in the lead-up to the midterm elections.

Earlier this year, for instance, Minnesota’s secretary of state received grand jury subpoenas seeking a limited number of individual voter records as part of a federal investigation into whether noncitizens are registered to vote or have unlawfully cast ballots.

The FBI also recently attempted to interview the director of elections in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.

Meanwhile in California, prosecutors last month announced criminal charges against a Los Angeles-area woman who was accused of paying homeless people to register to vote.

The Ohio Organizing Collaborative over the years has received donations from progressive groups such as New Venture Fund and the Tides Foundation, according to tax records filed with the IRS. Both of those groups have received scrutiny in the past from Republicans over financial mismanagement allegations.

In 2017, a paid canvasser for Ohio Organizing Collaborative pleaded guilty for involvement in a fraudulent voter registration scheme.

Another donor to the group has been the Voter Registration Project, which was previously accused by the conservative-leaning Capital Research Center of violating its nonprofit status by leading an effort to register millions of voters who helped Joe Biden win in 2020, tax records show. The project has denied any impropriety, though the allegations prompted Republican lawmakers in Michigan to request an investigation by the Justice Department in 2025 “to determine the extent of their involvement in illegal electioneering activities and fraudulent voter registration efforts.”

受中东战争冲击，英国经济4月环比萎缩0.1%。图为从英国首都伦敦120号花园的观景台上眺望的金融城摩天大楼。 （路透社）

英国今年强劲的开局在4月戛然而止，中东危机的影响开始渗透到经济之中。

彭博社引述英国国家统计局星期五（6月12月）公布的数据说，继前两个月增长之后，4月份国内生产总值(GDP)下降了0.1%。这一数据与经济师的预估中值相符。

这是英国经济2025年8月以来首次出现月度萎缩。新华社报道，4月份，英国经济陷入萎缩主要由中东战事引发的能源价格上涨和通胀预期上升所致。从行业看，4月英国服务业环比萎缩0.2%，抵消了制造业和建筑业的增长。建筑业环比增长0.1%，制造业环比持平。

英国国家统计局此前公布数据显示，今年第一季度，英国经济环比增长0.6%。

由于伊朗战争引发能源成本和借贷利率上升，企业和消费者都在努力应对这一局面，因此，这些数据预示着第二季度经济较为疲软。

延伸阅读

IMF警告中东冲突削弱英国经济增长前景 中东战火波及英国就业市场 首季失业率升至5%

国际货币基金组织5月发布报告说，中东局势正在削弱英国经济短期增长前景，能源价格上涨导致消费支出减少、生产成本增加，同时金融环境趋紧且不确定性增加，预计今年英国经济增长率将降至1.0%。

印度的卡车运输公司等商业用户一直从国有企业的零售网点购买柴油，这里的价格低于批发供应点，导致部分地区的加油站出现燃料短缺。 （路透社）

由于中东战争导致全球供应链中断，印度已禁止商业燃料买家从零售加油站购买汽油和柴油，并限制每日柴油购买量，以防止当地出现燃料短缺。

路透社报道，根据星期四（6月11日）晚间发布的政府命令，零售加油站经销商被要求每天向每位顾客或每辆车出售的柴油不得超过200升，并且买家不得转售燃料。

印度的卡车运输公司等商业用户一直从国有企业的零售网点购买柴油，这里的价格低于批发供应点，导致部分地区的加油站出现燃料短缺。

政府说，需要采取限制措施，以确保汽油和柴油的公平供应，防止燃料被挪用和囤积，并以合理的价格维持不间断的燃料供应。

柴油约占印度燃料需求的40%，但工业用户购买每升柴油的价格比零售价高出40卢比。

政府称，上个月，私营零售商的柴油销量下降了58%，而国有企业的销量大幅飙升，部分地区的增幅超过30%。

“这旨在限制大宗消费者从零售网点购买柴油，从而避免他们滥用价格套利。”

命令指出，受美伊冲突影响，地缘政治紧张局势已使全球石油供应链、运输物流和产品供应面临压力，因此必须采取审慎的管理和节约措施。

命令也指出，这些措施最长可达90天。

Stowaway with 524 pounds of cocaine and a gun found on barge off Puerto Rico, Coast Guard says

June 12, 2026 / 9:55 AM EDT / CBS News

A stowaway with more than 500 pounds of cocaine and a gun was found on board a barge off the coast of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday, marking the second time this year that authorities detained a stowaway holding a huge stash of drugs in the same harbor.

Crewmembers from two Coast Guard Cutters joined forces with a Homeland Security task force to apprehend the stowaway after boarding the Crimson Clover barge in the San Juan Harbor on Tuesday, officials said in a news release. During the operation, officers located a stowaway who was in possession of a firearm and nine bales of cocaine weighing approximately 237.75 kilograms, or about 524 pounds.

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Isaac Mayo later met with law enforcement partners at Coast Guard Base San Juan, and took custody of the alleged drug smuggler, the weapon and the cocaine, which was estimated to have a street value of $4.8 million. Authorities have not identified the suspect.

The Coast Guard released images of the barge, the alleged drugs and officers hauling the bales onto the shore.

A stowaway with more than 500 pounds of cocaine and a gun was found on board a barge off the coast of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday. U.S. Coast Guard

“A collective pool of experience and available assets led to a safe boarding and a discovery of cocaine aboard the barge, which further deters smuggling organizations from exploiting incoming commercial vessels to conduct human and drug trafficking activities within our area of responsibility,” Lt. Cmdr. Ross Markham said in a statement.

The arrest and seizure comes amid ramped up efforts by the U.S. to target drug trafficking and human smuggling in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. In addition to routine Coast Guard interceptions of narcotics on the open seas, the Trump administration has continued a monthslong campaign of military strikes on alleged drug-running boats, killing more than 200 people.

In February, a stowaway was arrested after he was allegedly found floating in a Puerto Rican harbor with 789 pounds of cocaine.The Coast Guard recovered the suspect from the water, as well as 10 bales of contraband wrapped in brown bags.

The month after that, authorities seized cocaine worth an estimated $12 million from a boat off the island’s north coast.