Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security Chairman Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) has announced a hearing scheduled for Tuesday, February 3, to review the capabilities, readiness, and operational demands of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Deployable Specialized Forces (DSF). The session aims to provide insight into DSF activities off Venezuela’s coast and throughout the Western Hemisphere, focusing on maritime challenges encountered during law enforcement missions.
The DSF are tasked with high-risk operations such as intercepting narcotics, seizing rogue vessels, and combating human smuggling. Recently, these specialized units led efforts in seizing sanctioned oil tankers near Venezuela. These actions have highlighted their role in addressing evolving threats and protecting U.S. security interests.
Chairman Gimenez stated: “For far too long, narcoterrorists and foreign adversaries have exploited weaknesses along our maritime borders to flood our country with deadly drugs, poison American communities, and undermine the rule of law. That era is over. Under President Donald J. Trump’s leadership, border security on land and at sea are once again a top national priority. Operation Absolute Resolve delivered a decisive blow to a criminal narco-regime with the swift capture of Nicolás Maduro and set in motion the restoration of democracy and the rule of law throughout the Western Hemisphere. The United States Coast Guard plays a unique and indispensable role in defending our homeland in this region. As threats from Communist Cuba and Communist China continue to grow, we must ensure our Coast Guard has the specialized workforce, real-time intelligence sharing, coordinated strength, and cutting-edge capabilities needed to confront these threats head-on and keep America safe.”
The hearing titled “Frontline Defenders: How the Coast Guard’s Deployable Specialized Forces Combat Narcoterrorists and other Maritime Threats on the High Seas” will take place at 10:00 am EST in room 310 Cannon House Office Building. Rear Admiral David C. Barata from the United States Coast Guard and Ms. Heather MacLeod from the Government Accountability Office are scheduled as witnesses.
Since December 10, 2025, joint operations by the Coast Guard alongside the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of War (DoW) have included multiple boardings of vessels suspected of carrying embargoed Venezuelan oil in violation of U.S. sanctions. Enforcement actions by DSF have targeted these vessels while expanding regional operations.
In November last year, USCG achieved its largest drug seizure by a single cutter during patrol off Port Everglades, Florida—approximately 49,010 pounds of cocaine were confiscated. In Fiscal Year 2025 overall seizures reached nearly 510,000 pounds of cocaine across the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean.
The hearing will be livestreamed on YouTube for public viewing; press attendance requires congressional credentials with advance RSVP.
