Operation Ultramar ran from 15 to 28 August 2026 as a coordinated counternarcotics effort by the Dominican Republic, the United States, Colombia and the Netherlands against maritime drug trafficking in the Central Caribbean.[1]

The operation produced two interdictions on 19 and 20 August, removing a combined 4,687 kilograms of cocaine and more than 22.5 kilograms of marijuana, and eight suspected traffickers were detained.[1]

On 19 August, U.S. maritime patrol aircraft detected a suspected go-fast vessel more than 100 nautical miles south of the Dominican Republic; Dominican forces then intercepted and boarded the vessel, seized the contraband, and detained three suspected traffickers.[1]

The 19 August interdiction seized 1,399 kg of cocaine and more than 22.5 kg of marijuana from a 32-foot, unregistered Eduardoño-type boat equipped with two 250-horsepower outboard engines.[1]

On 20 August, a second go-fast vessel detected more than 150 nautical miles southwest of Puerto Rico led to the detention of five suspected traffickers and the seizure of 3,288 kg of cocaine; the unseaworthy vessel was then safely sunk.[1]

The DNCD said the interdictions were a ‘decisive blow to transnational organized crime networks’ that ‘consolidates the country as an efficient and strategic operational partner in the fight against drug trafficking and related crimes.’[1]

Operation Ultramar is a component of Campaign MARTILLO, the JIATF-S-coordinated multinational campaign designed to disrupt illicit trafficking networks throughout the region.[1]