Suspect held on $2.5M bail in alleged kidnapping of missing 23-year-old Philadelphia woman: Police

Suspect held on .5M bail in alleged kidnapping of missing 23-year-old Philadelphia woman: Police
Suspect held on $2.5M bail in alleged kidnapping of missing 23-year-old Philadelphia woman: Police
Officials in Philadelphia are searching for Kada Scott, a 23 year old woman who has been missing for nearly a week. Philadelphia Police Department

(PHILADELPHIA) — A suspect has been arrested in connection with the disappearance of a 23-year-old nursing assistant in Philadelphia who was allegedly harassed by an unknown individual before she went missing. However, the search continues for the missing woman, Philadelphia police said.

Kada Scott was last seen by her mother on Oct. 4 when she was leaving for work at a nearby nursing home, police said last week. On Wednesday, police said Keon King, 21, has been charged with kidnapping “for his involvement” in the disappearance of Scott.

While King is in custody in connection with Scott’s disappearance, officials said “a lot of work” is still to be done in the investigation, and they are “still treating this as if Ms. Scott is still alive.”

“The No. 1 priority is locating Ms. Scott,” John M. Stanford, the first deputy commissioner for field operations at the Philadelphia Police Department, said on Wednesday.

Scott arrived at work on Oct. 4, but left prior to her shift’s completion, and has not been seen since, Philadelphia police Capt. John Craig said during a press conference last week. It was not clear what time Scott left work, but officials said her shift typically was from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Scott was reported missing to police on Oct. 5, with law enforcement saying they had “some concern, more so than usual” regarding her disappearance due to worrying phone calls she was receiving.

“In the days leading up to her disappearance, Ms. Scott related to her family and friends that an unknown individual or person had been harassing her via phone,” Craig said last week.

Officials were able to recover Scott’s vehicle, which was located in the parking lot of the nursing home where she worked, Craig said.

On Wednesday, officials said evidence shows Scott was “in communication with an individual” — identified as King — and that she appeared to meet with him “very shortly after” she left work on Oct. 4.

“Mr. King is the last person we believe to be in contact with her when she went offline,” Ashley Kozlowski, the Philadelphia assistant district attorney, said during a press conference on Wednesday.

Police were previously asking the public’s help in locating the suspect’s vehicle, a 1999 metallic-gold Toyota Camry with a Pennsylvania license plate of MSX-0797, which they believe Scott may have been in. Later on Wednesday, police confirmed to ABC News that King’s vehicle was found in an apartment lot.

Officials said they received two tips, the first led them to an elementary school where they recovered evidence “of value,” and the second that led them to the vehicle connected to Scott’s disappearance.

Officials on Wednesday said the car has “front-end damage on the left front bumper” and that it “could be anywhere.”

King has a “little bit of a pattern of this type of history,” as he was involved in a case earlier this year where he was accused of kidnapping and strangling a “female acquaintance,” officials said. The case was dismissed after a witness failed to appear in court, but Kozlowski said on Wednesday they “made the decision to refile those charges.”

On Tuesday, police told ABC News the investigation was being led by the Homicide Unit, but said they were not characterizing it as a homicide investigation.

The 23-year-old’s father, Kevin Scott, told ABC News the family remains confident “she’s gonna be with us as soon as possible.”

“It’s been difficult, extremely difficult. We keep faith that she’s OK and she’s going to be with us as soon as possible, she’s going to be found and hopefully no harm is done to her. I’m going to keep that positive vibe going,” Kevin Scott told ABC News.

King was arraigned on Thursday and is being held on $2.5 million bail, the Philadelphia district attorney told ABC News.

ABC News’ Tommy Foster, Sabina Ghebremedhin, Deena Zaru and Tesfaye Negussie contributed to this report.

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Wisconsin man arrested for encouraging the shooting of federal agents on TikTok: Prosecutors

Wisconsin man arrested for encouraging the shooting of federal agents on TikTok: Prosecutors
Wisconsin man arrested for encouraging the shooting of federal agents on TikTok: Prosecutors
Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department

(KENOSHA COUNTY, Wis.) —  A Wisconsin man pleaded not guilty on Thursday after he was arrested for allegedly threatening federal agents in a series of TikTok videos, according to a criminal complaint obtained by ABC News.

Andrew Stanton, 38, was arrested earlier this month and charged with threats to assault, kidnap or murder a United States official after authorities linked him to several TikTok videos threatening agents at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, prosecutors said.

“When there are mass shootings, they are successful. People die and people are terrorized. You can apply that to other people: federal agents,” Stanton allegedly shared in a video on Sept. 10, prosecutors said.

On Aug. 26, the Southwest Wisconsin Threat Analysis Center received a tip from the Wisconsin Statewide Intelligence Center that an “individual appearing to be” Stanton was making threatening statements on TikTok specifically aimed at “soliciting Israeli personal information,” prosecutors said.

“Do you have the known whereabouts of [Israel flag] IDF members in the IL/WI area? Feel free to dm me. We need verification that they are IN or served,” the text in the video said, according to the criminal complaint.

The account where these statements were posted was removed, but prosecutors said additional accounts that were believed to be Stanton’s — after obtaining the email address associated with the accounts and comparing the suspect’s driver’s license photo with the man in the videos — contained similar rhetoric, prosecutors said.

On Aug. 29, one of those accounts posted a video that stated, “We’re not getting through to them [politicians] with using our words. That’s never gonna happen. You have to use bullets,” according to prosecutors.

Another video featured text on the screen that read, “I imply the very TRUE statement that a violent state can only be stopped with violence in return” and “I think we should be OFFING federal agents,” prosecutors said.

On Sept. 5, authorities made multiple attempts to interview Stanton, but were “unable to reach him,” prosecutors said.

Then, on Sept. 11, a federal law enforcement officer texted Stanton saying he was a supervisor with CBP, assigned to the FBI, indicating “he wished to speak to Stanton about posts he had been making,” the criminal complaint said.

Stanton then proceeded to send a series of threatening messages to the officer, prosecutors said.

“Please die. It will help future generations,” Stanton allegedly wrote.

Then, on Oct. 4, the suspect posted a video threatening the officer he had been messaging, prosecutors said.

“If they show up to your neighborhood, and I’m talking to you, Border Patrol Officer Joe, it’s time we start shooting you,” Stanton allegedly said in the video, according to the criminal complaint.

In the same video, Stanton also allegedly said, “If ICE shows up to your neighborhood — I’m sorry, I’m just gonna say it. It’s time to start [expletive] shooting at them,” according to the complaint.

Stanton’s final pretrial conference is scheduled for Dec. 1, with his trial being set for Dec. 15, according to court records. He is currently being held in the Kenosha County Detention Center, according to jail records.

An attorney representing Stanton did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

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Prosecutors expected to seek grand jury indictment of former Trump adviser John Bolton: Sources

Prosecutors expected to seek grand jury indictment of former Trump adviser John Bolton: Sources
Prosecutors expected to seek grand jury indictment of former Trump adviser John Bolton: Sources
Former U.S. security advisor John Bolton speaks at the inauguration of the ‘FAES Campus 2024’, at the Hotel Petit Palace Savoy Alfonso XII, on 23 September, 2024 in Madrid, Spain. Jesus Hellin/Europa Press via Getty Images

(WASHNGTON) — Federal prosecutors in Maryland are expected to ask a grand jury Thursday to indict former Trump national security adviser John Bolton for his alleged mishandling of classified documents, sources tell ABC News.

The move comes on the heels of the indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James as President Donald Trump continues what critics call a campaign of retribution against his perceived political foes.

Bolton has been a target of Trump’s ire since leaving Trump’s first administration and publishing a tell-all book. Federal agents in August searched Bolton’s Maryland residence and Washington, D.C., office, related to allegations that Bolton possessed classified information. 

Bolton has denied ever unlawfully removing classified materials from his time in government and has said no such information was published in his 2019 memoir “The Room Where It Happened.” 

The investigation is being run out of the U.S. attorney’s office in Maryland, unlike the Comey and James probes which are being conducted by the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, who sources say brought the Comey and James charges against the advice of career prosecutors.

Comey, who was indicted on charges of lying to Congress, and James, who is charged with mortgage fraud, have both denied wrongdoing.

Last month, a federal judge unsealed a redacted version of the affidavit that had been assembled by prosecutors in order to execute their court-authorized search of Bolton’s home. Most of the document concerned allegations surrounding the publication of Bolton’s book, which the first Trump administration unsuccessfully sued to block.

The federal judge overseeing that lawsuit expressed grave concerns over whether Bolton had included highly classified information in his book that could potentially compromise national security.

On the day that Bolton’s home and office were searched, Trump said that he was “unaware” of the searches but went on to call Bolton a “sleazebag.” Referencing the FBI’s 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago home in his own classified documents case, Trump told reporters that having your home searched is “not a good feeling.”

Trump pleaded not guilty in June 2023 to 40 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials after leaving the White House in 2021, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information and took steps to thwart the government’s efforts to get the documents back.

After Trump was reelected president last November, the case was dropped due to a long-standing Justice Department policy barring the prosecution of a sitting president.

Trump, asked about Bolton in a June 2022 Oval Office interview with Fox News, said, “He took classified information and he published it, during a presidency. It’s one thing to write a book after. During. And I believe that he’s a criminal, and I believe, frankly, he should go to jail for that, and that probably, possibly will happen. That’s what should happen.”

ABC News’ Pierre Thomas contributed to this report.

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Santa Barbara authorities looking for 9-year-old girl who hasn’t been seen in at least 1 year

Santa Barbara authorities looking for 9-year-old girl who hasn’t been seen in at least 1 year
Santa Barbara authorities looking for 9-year-old girl who hasn’t been seen in at least 1 year
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office is searching for Melodee Buzzard. This is the most recent photograph available, which was taken two years ago. Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office

(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) — California authorities are trying to track down a 9-year-old girl who they say hasn’t been seen in at least one year.

The search for 9-year-old Melodee Buzzard was sparked on Tuesday when a school official reported her “prolonged absence,” the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said. Melodee is homeschooled and has not checked in since October 2024, according to the sheriff’s office.

When deputies responded to her home, Melodee and her mom, Ashlee Buzzard, weren’t there, and “no clear explanation was provided” for where Melodee was, the sheriff’s office said. Then, on Wednesday night, deputies returned to the home and Ashlee Buzzard was there, but Melodee was not, authorities said. No one else lives at the house, authorities said.

The last confirmed sighting of Melodee was about one year ago, according to the sheriff’s office. The department has released a photo of Melodee, taken about two years ago.

“We really want folks to keep an eye out … and send in any information they might have about her,” sheriff’s office spokesperson Raquel Zick told ABC News.

Anyone with information can call the sheriff’s department at 805-681-4150 or can submit a tip anonymously at 805-681-4171 or SBSheriff.org.

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Family farm in Idaho faces worker shortage as Trump administration immigration raids escalate

Family farm in Idaho faces worker shortage as Trump administration immigration raids escalate
Family farm in Idaho faces worker shortage as Trump administration immigration raids escalate
ABC News

(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Labor Department is warning of a potential food crisis linked to President Trump’s immigration raids – and one family-owned farm is caught in the middle.

“The near total cessation of the inflow of illegal aliens combined with the lack of an available legal workforce, results in significant disruptions to production costs and threatening the stability of domestic food production and prices for U.S consumers,” according to a Department of Labor report submitted earlier in October.

Owyhee Produce, a third-generation agricultural business in Idaho, is now facing worker shortages in the wake of the Trump administration’s increasing deportation raids.

Shay Myers, Owyhee Produce’s general manager, said the farm typically has 300 workers at peak harvesting times, with roughly 82 H-2A visa employees, who are temporary, seasonal agricultural workers from abroad.

According to Myers, these seasonal workers – some from Mexico, some from South Africa and other countries – are granted a visa for up to nine months after being interviewed to determine whether they qualify. Owyhee then provides their travel to the farm, and their housing – “everything, really, when they’re here except for food and clothing. That’s part of the requirements,” said Myers.

Given the cost and requirements, it may seem easier to hire local workers instead. Not so, according to Myers.

“We would love to hire people from here. The reality is that we can’t find the numbers of people here,” Myers told ABC News. “We’re in a rural area, number one. Number two: This is hard work. It is difficult work, and there are lots of people that are not willing to do it.”

Mauricio Sol, a seasonal worker at Owyhee, said 90% of the workforce at the farm is from Mexico, but it is becoming more difficult to find seasonal agricultural workers due to increased concerns about possible ICE raids.

“We all come on the H-2A visa program, so we come all here legally by the season, just for the season, and then we go back to Mexico,” Sol told ABC News. “We usually get a lot of applications. We’re not getting that many now because people is afraid of that even when they are legally here, they’re getting arrested for no reason.”

James O’Neill, the director of Legislative Affairs for the American Business Immigration Coalition, which describes itself as “a bipartisan coalition of over 1,700 employers and CEOs from across the country to provide a strong and unified voice seeking lasting immigration solutions,” says that President Trump’s immigration raids are hurting agricultural labor forces and could lead to higher food prices.

“It’s absolutely impacting the labor force,” O’Neill told ABC News. “Nationwide, the USDA’s ag labor survey suggests that somewhere between 50 and 60 percent of our farm labor workforce is undocumented immigrants.”

“And if that’s the case, if we were to deport them all overnight, then that’s 60% of the workforce, meaning that’s 60% of the supply that’s not being met without a shift in demand. And I think anyone that understands economics knows that means higher prices for them at the grocery store,” O’Neill said.

A September report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Service estimated that “about 40 percent” of “hired crop farmworkers lack legal immigration status.”

Myers said he wants to share Owyhee’s story in hopes of bringing attention to the plight faced by seasonal agricultural workers across the country, “because it’s wrong not to.”

“I have a voice, I have reach. I have people that will listen,” Myers told ABC News. “And because I am a conservative and a Republican, people assume that I would have a different perspective here, and this is my reality.”

“I love these people. I love the culture, and I love the effort that they make. And ethically, to continue to not fix this problem is absolutely completely wrong.” Myers said. “We as Americans try to do the right thing. Let’s do the right thing.”

ABC News reached out to the U.S. Department of Labor for comment but was told that their press team was unavailable due to the ongoing government shutdown.

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Man charged with murder over 40 years after teen’s killing: DA

Man charged with murder over 40 years after teen’s killing: DA
Man charged with murder over 40 years after teen’s killing: DA
A photo of Theresa Fusco is shown during a press briefing with the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office, Oct. 15, 2025. ABC News

(NEW YORK) — Authorities in suburban New York believe they have closed a murder case that had been open for more than 40 years.

In November 1984, 16-year-old Theresa Fusco disappeared after she was fired from her job working the snack bar at a roller rink in Lynbrook. Three men who had been convicted of her death were exonerated in 2003 based on DNA evidence.

On Wednesday, the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office announced 63-year-old man Richard Bilodeau has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with Fusco’s death. The indictment further charges him with second-degree murder during the commission or attempted commission of first-degree rape.

A discarded smoothie cup was the critical piece of evidence in the nearly 41-year-old murder case that Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said “sent shockwaves through the tight-knit Lynbrook community” and a fear that young women were at risk. 

Investigators had been surveilling the suspect for months when a break came in February. Bilodeau went to get a smoothie not far from his home in Center Moriches and investigators recovered the discarded cup and straw from the trash and brought it for testing, officials said.

“The DNA from that straw, Richard Bilodeau’s DNA, was a match,” Donnelly said during a press briefing Wednesday. “The DNA in this case led us straight to Richard Bilodeau.”

Donnelly said Bilodeau, who lived by himself in Center Moriches, had been under investigation since early 2024.

He was arrested Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder charge. Donnelly said he denied knowing Fusco, “but science proves otherwise.”

“Through his denials that he had ever known her name, who she was, he made kind of a flippant comment about the 1980s. He said, ‘People got away with murder.’  Well, I’ll tell you something, Mr. Bilodeau, I’ve got you now,” Donnelly said.

Fusco’s father said he “never gave up hope” and the indictment “brings closure” to him and his family.

“It’s heartbreaking to go through this over and over again, but this seems like a finalization and I’m very grateful, very grateful, for me and my family to come to an end like this, than to constantly be a cold case situation,” Tom Fusco said during Wednesday’s press briefing.

In 1984, Bilodeau was a 23-year-old living with his grandparents in Lynbrook, a mile from Hot Skates, the roller rink where Fusco had worked, officials said.

Fusco’s body was found buried under leaves and shipping pallets. Police said she had been strangled, sexually assaulted and beaten.

The murder stunned her Nassau County community, especially when two other teens went missing in the same area, which became known as the Lynbrook Triangle, a local take on the Bermuda Triangle, known for its disappearances.

Three men were charged in Fusco’s death, convicted and sentenced to more than 30 years in prison. 

The men insisted they were innocent, and, in 2003, DNA technology caught up to the case and confirmed semen found on the girl’s body was from another man and their convictions were vacated.

One of the wrongly convicted, John Restivo, told “Good Morning America” in 2003, “For years … someone would ask me how I’m doing today. I’d say, ‘Not good, I woke up on the wrong side of the wall this morning.’ Yesterday I was able to say, ‘I woke up on the right side of the wall this morning.'”

ABC News’ Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Trump overheard on ‘hot mic’ apparently talking business with Indonesian leader

Trump overheard on ‘hot mic’ apparently talking business with Indonesian leader
Trump overheard on ‘hot mic’ apparently talking business with Indonesian leader
U.S. President Donald Trump and Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto gesture as they pose for a photo, at a world leaders’ summit on ending the Gaza war on October 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Suzanne Plunkett – Pool / Getty Images

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto appear to have been overheard on Monday discussing what seemed to be a Trump family business venture, leading to criticism that it undermines what the White House has said about a firewall existing between the president’s official duties and his personal fortune.

During the exchange, which took place on a live camera feed shortly after Trump addressed a gathering of leaders in Egypt to laud the Gaza ceasefire plan, Subianto asked Trump to meet with “Eric,” presumably referring to Eric Trump, president’s son who is the executive vice president of the Trump Organization.

“Would you do that?” Trump responds. “He’s such a good boy. I’ll have Eric call you.”

Neither leader appeared to be aware that their conversation was being picked up by a microphone. The audio is muffled and at times difficult to discern. It was not clear exactly what the two men were discussing.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News. In the past, White House officials have said that Trump’s assets are held in a trust controlled by his family, and that, while president, he has no role in the family’s business dealings in order to avoid ethical concerns.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in May that it was “frankly ridiculous that anyone in this room would even suggest that President Trump is doing anything for his own benefit.”

A spokesperson for the Trump Organization said in a statement that “The Trump Organization has two of the largest and most substantial projects in all of Indonesia, which began in 2015, long before President Trump entered office for the first term.”

“It should come as no surprise that our unbelievable property was referenced given its prominence within the country,” the statement said.

Critics immediately leapt on the nature of the discussion between Trump and Subianto, saying that “there is no line between Trump presidential and personal business,” according to Tony Carrk, the executive director of Accountable.US, a nonprofit government watchdog.

“The President is apparently using a foreign leader summit as a platform to smooth things over for his son’s condo development ventures in Indonesia,” Carrk said.

The exchange began when Subianto approached Trump behind the lectern where he had just finished addressing world leaders on camera, in front of the media. The first intelligible words came from Subianto, who describes a region as “not safe, security-wise,” before asking to meet with Eric.

“We’ll look for a better place,” Subianto says moments later.

“I’ll have Eric call you,” Trump responds.

“Eric or Don,” Subianto says, apparently referring to Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr., another executive vice president at the Trump Organization.

At one point during the conversation, Subianto tells Trump, “I told Hary, also, by the way,” possibly referring to Hary Tanoesoedibjo, an Indonesian real estate developer who has partnered with the Trump Organization on both of its existing projects in the country.

Just days before the summit, Tanoesoedibjo posted a video on social media promoting the Trump-branded property in Lido City, a town just south of Jakarta, boasting of its “breathtaking views” and “unmatched prestige.” Tanoesoedibjo’s firm, MNC Land, is also in the process of developing another Trump-branded property in Bali.

MNC Land did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

Before parting ways, Trump, on the video feed, tells Subianto: “You’re a fantastic guy. I’ll have one of them call you. I like that you told me that. We don’t need that.”

Indonesia’s foreign minister downplayed the conversation, according to Bloomberg

“They’re friends, so it’s natural for them to speak privately,” Sugiono, the foreign minister, told reporters. “If there’s anything specific that needs follow-up, I will be informed.”

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Suspect charged with kidnapping in connection to disappearance of 23-year-old Philadelphia woman: Police

Suspect held on .5M bail in alleged kidnapping of missing 23-year-old Philadelphia woman: Police
Suspect held on $2.5M bail in alleged kidnapping of missing 23-year-old Philadelphia woman: Police
Officials in Philadelphia are searching for Kada Scott, a 23 year old woman who has been missing for nearly a week. Philadelphia Police Department

(PHILADELPHIA) — A suspect has been arrested in connection to the disappearance of a 23-year-old woman who was allegedly harassed by an unknown individual before she went missing. However, the search continues for the missing nursing assistant, Philadelphia police said.

Kada Scott was last seen by her mother on Oct. 4 when she was leaving for work at a nearby nursing home, police said last week. On Wednesday, police said Keon King, 21, has been charged with kidnapping “for his involvement” in the disappearance of Scott.

While King is in custody in connection to Scott’s disappearance, officials said “a lot of work” is still to be done in the investigation, and they are “still treating this as if Ms. Scott is still alive.”

“The No. 1 priority is locating Ms. Scott,” John M. Stanford, the first deputy commissioner for field operations at the Philadelphia Police Department, said on Wednesday.

Scott arrived at work on Oct. 4, but left prior to her shift’s completion, and has not been seen since, Philadelphia police Capt. John Craig said during a press conference last week. It was not clear what time Scott left work, but officials said her shift typically was from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Scott was reported missing to police on Oct. 5, with law enforcement saying they had “some concern, more so than usual” regarding her disappearance due to worrying phone calls she was receiving.

“In the days leading up to her disappearance, Ms. Scott related to her family and friends that an unknown individual or person had been harassing her via phone,” Craig said last week.

Officials were able to recover Scott’s vehicle, which was located in the parking lot of the nursing home where she worked, Craig said.

On Tuesday, police told ABC News the investigation was being led by the the Homicide Unit, but said they were not characterizing it as a homicide investigation.

The 23-year-old’s father, Kevin Scott, told ABC News the family remains confident “she’s gonna be with us as soon as possible.”

“It’s been difficult, extremely difficult. We keep faith that she’s OK and she’s going to be with us as soon as possible, she’s going to be found and hopefully no harm is done to her. I’m going to keep that positive vibe going,” Kevin Scott told ABC News.

ABC News’ Tommy Foster and Sabina Ghebremedhin contributed to this report.

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Over 50 tons of cocaine seized by US Coast Guard in Pacific since August

Over 50 tons of cocaine seized by US Coast Guard in Pacific since August
Over 50 tons of cocaine seized by US Coast Guard in Pacific since August
Pedro Portal/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Coast Guard says that it has seized over 50 tons of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific Ocean since launching Operation Pacific Viper in early August, averaging nearly a ton daily.

In total, 86 people suspected of narco-trafficking have been arrested as a result of 34 interdictions since early August, according to a statement from the U.S. Coast Guard on Tuesday.

“Through Operation Pacific Viper, the Coast Guard is accelerating counter-drug operations in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, where significant transport of illicit narcotics continues from Central and South America,” officials said.

The U.S. Coast Guard said that it has surged their assets in the region in the past two months in order to “interdict, seize and disrupt transshipments of cocaine and other bulk illicit drugs.”

Operation Pacific Viper’s ultimate goal is to counter narco-terrorism seeking to produce and traffic illicit drugs into the United States.

“The Coast Guard’s seizure of over 100,000 pounds of cocaine, in such a short timeframe, is a remarkable achievement,” said Rear Adm. Jeffrey Novak, deputy commander of U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area.

“When we say the Coast Guard is accelerating counter-narcotics operations, we mean it. Alongside our partners and allies, our maritime fighting force is scouring drug smuggling routes in the Eastern Pacific and dismantling narco-terrorist networks,” Novak continued. “As we mark our interdiction of 100,000 pounds, we are already working towards the next milestone.”

The Coast Guard is the United States’ lead federal agency for maritime drug interdiction, officials said, and its more than 76,000 members “operate a multi-mission, interoperable fleet of more than 220 cutters, 185 fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, 1,300 boats and its own dedicated cyber command to protect critical maritime infrastructure,” according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

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Cartels issuing bounties up to $50,000 for hits on ICE, CBP agents: DHS

Cartels issuing bounties up to ,000 for hits on ICE, CBP agents: DHS
Cartels issuing bounties up to $50,000 for hits on ICE, CBP agents: DHS
An officer wearing an ICE badge in Broadview, Ill., Sept. 26, 2025. Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images “

(WASHINGTON) — There is credible intelligence that members of Mexican drug cartels have offered a “tiered” bounty system for hits against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Two weeks ago, the Justice Department charged a member of the Chicago-based Latin Kings with putting a bounty on Greg Bovino, the CBP Commander overseeing the surge operations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland.

Drug cartels have “disseminated a structured bounty program to incentivize violence against federal personnel,” according to a press release from DHS.

The federal agency alleges cartels are offering $2,000 for intelligence gathering and doxing of agents, $5,000–$10,000 for kidnapping or non-lethal assaults on standard ICE/CBP officers and up to $50,000 for the assassination of high-ranking officials.

Gangs like the Latin Kings have also deployed “spotters” armed with firearms and radio communications to provide the real-time movements of CBP and ICE agents, according to DHS.

“These criminal networks are not just resisting the rule of law, they are waging an organized campaign of terror against the brave men and women who protect our borders and communities,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a press release.

“Our agents are facing ambushes, drone surveillance, and death threats, all because they dare to enforce the laws passed by Congress,” Noem added. “We will not back down from these threats, and every criminal, terrorist, and illegal alien will face American justice.”

The DHS report comes amid a legal battle surrounding the deployment of National Guard troops to Chicago, in part, as protection for immigration enforcement officers and facilities.

Last week, District Judge April Perry temporarily blocked the deployment of troops from any U.S. state into Illinois, a ruling that will be in effect for 14 days.

In the decision, Perry determined that there is “no credible evidence that there is a danger of rebellion in Illinois” and no evidence that the president is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the U.S.

She said that the deployment of the national guard to Illinois “is likely to lead to civil unrest” requiring a response from local and state law enforcement.

Referencing what she called the “provocative nature of ICE enforcement activity” in Illinois, she said, “I find allowing the national guard to deploy will only add fuel to the fire that they started.”

The DOJ appealed the ruling, but it was rejected by a federal appeals court.

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