Trump Falsely Claims Drug Trafficking by Sea Down 98.2% After Vessel Strikes

During an April 15, 2026 interview with Fox Business News, President Trump falsely claimed that drug trafficking by sea has been reduced by 98.2% following U.S. vessel strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. PolitiFact rated this claim as false, noting that available data does not support Trump's assertion of a near-eradication of maritime drug smuggling. Trump had previously made similar false claims, including a January 29, 2026 statement claiming a 97% reduction (the quote 'Drugs entering our country by sea are down 97%' is from this earlier statement). He repeated the 98.2% figure in a Truth Social post during the same week as the Fox interview. Fact-checkers found no evidence in Coast Guard interdiction data, DEA trafficking reports, or customs seizure statistics to substantiate these dramatic reduction percentages. Actual maritime drug interdiction data shows fluctuating but not dramatically reduced trafficking volumes.

"Drugs entering our country by sea are down 97%." — From January 29, 2026 statement; Trump later escalated the false claim to 98.2% in the April 15 Fox Business interview