38.5 tonnes of cannabis seized in Interpol Orca XI operation
Interpol's six-week Operation Orca XI across 19 Latin American and Caribbean countries seized 38.5 tonnes of marijuana alongside other drugs and 3,308 illegal firearms, with more than 8,700 people detained. The marijuana was part of multi-drug seizures reported in 10 participating countries between 15 October and 30 November 2025.
🇵🇦 Latin America and Caribbean, 19 countries (including Panama) · Panama
More than 8,700 people were detained in the coordinated Operation Orca XI across
19 Latin American and Caribbean countries.[1][2]Colombia reported the detention
of 22 people investigated for terrorism financing and arms trafficking.[1]In
Panama, two suspects were arrested for smuggling arms through messaging and mail
systems.[1]In Brazil, authorities dismantled a criminal network dedicated to
drug trafficking and illegal possession of arms.[1]In Chile, an investigation
led to the arrest of three people.[1]
The operation seized 3,308 illegal firearms and 56 tonnes of drugs overall,
according to Interpol.[1][2]Ten participating countries seized 6.9 tonnes of
cocaine, 9.3 tonnes of coca paste, 38.5 tonnes of marijuana, 2 tonnes of
methamphetamine, 11 kilograms of ketamine and more than 659,000 coca plants.[1][2]Security forces also seized about 200,000 rounds of ammunition, 256,025
dollars in cash and 210 vehicles, Interpol said.[1]In Chile, officers seized
580 kilograms of drugs valued at about 5.6 million dollars plus nine pistols and
froze 11 bank accounts linked to money laundering.[1]
Operation Orca XI ran for six weeks between 15 October and 30 November 2025 in
Central America, South America and the Caribbean with support from the
Organization of American States, according to the International Criminal Police
Organization based in Lyon, France.[1][2]Interpol said illicit arms trafficking
in the region is closely linked to drug trafficking, human trafficking, migrant
smuggling and cybercrime.[1]The operation involved Argentina, Belize,
Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana,
Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic,
Suriname and Uruguay.[1]Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza said the
arms taken out of circulation and the drugs seized represent real progress in
the fight against organized crime.[1]OAS Secretary General Albert R. Ramdin
said the operation shows that international cooperation and information sharing
deliver results.[1]
In one Chile case under the operation, officers seized over a tonne of cannabis along with seven firearms, cash and six vehicles.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
DWdw.comESIncautan más de 3.300 armas y 56 toneladas de droga en A. L.
INTERPOLinterpol.intOver 3,300 illegal firearms, 56 tonnes of drugs seized in operation in the Americas
Open questions the AI reported
The incident date uses the operation end date of 30 November 2025; the source was published on 26 May 2026.
The report is filed under Panama as a central participating-country reference; the operation spanned 19 listed countries with no single hub and the coordinates are a regional reference.
The 8,700 arrests cover the whole firearms operation and are not a cannabis-only count; no cannabis-specific arrest total was given.
The 22 detentions in Colombia and two arrests in Panama concern arms trafficking and terrorism financing and cannot be separated into a cannabis-only figure.
Cocaine, coca paste, methamphetamine and ketamine amounts and the more than 659,000 coca plants are non-cannabis amounts excluded from cannabis figures.
The 56-tonne overall drug total and the 580-kilogram Chile seizure are mixed-drug totals that cannot be separated into cannabis and are excluded from cannabis figures.
Cash, ammunition, vehicle, pistol and bank-account counts and the 5.6-million-dollar Chile valuation concern the mixed operation and are not cannabis figures.
No names, charges or court outcomes were reported for most of those detained.
Only the DW account could be opened; no second independent account of this operation was found.
The page's only image is an archive photo of a different detention in Bogota and does not show this operation, so no event photo is listed.
The text gives a number of plants ("659,000 coca plants") but the figures have no plants_destroyed; check whether it belongs there.
The Chile caption of over a tonne of cannabis with seven firearms and six vehicles appears distinct from the 580 kg Chile investigation already in the report, but the release does not clarify whether they are separate cases or give a cannabis-only weight for the 580 kg total.
Panama’s Senafront border service seized 914 rectangular packages of suspected marijuana in Playa Muerto, Darién, detaining two people. The operation also netted phones, GPS devices and a twin-engine boat, with detainees and evidence handed to prosecutors.
Colombia's police director, general William Salamanca, announced on 26 November 2024 that a joint operation south of Isla Jicarón, Veraguas, had seized 1,184 kilos of marijuana and 704 kilos of cocaine from a Go-Fast boat. Three people described as Nicaraguan and Costa Rican were captured and handed to Panamanian authorities.
Panama's border service Senafront and prosecutors seized 5,900 cylindrical capsules of suspected liquid THC in Clarita, Chepo district, during Operación Manto Oscuro. Suspects carrying three sacks fled into the jungle when challenged, and authorities valued the shipment at 500,000 balboas.
A court sentenced a man to 80 months in prison for cultivation and custody of marijuana seeds and plants under article 314 of the Penal Code, after police found 12 plants and 279 seeds in Los Santos.
