French Navy intercepts boat with cocaine in Caribbean

The French Navy intercepted a cocaine-laden boat in the Caribbean, seizing 678 kg and handing it to Barbadian authorities as France ramps up efforts against international drug trafficking.

Reuters

5 February 2026 at 08:55:30

French Navy intercepts boat with cocaine in Caribbean

French Defence and Veterans Minister Catherine Vautrin speak during a joint statement with Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias (not pictured) to the press on board the French-built Belharra frigate, Kimon, at Salamis Naval Base, in Salamina Island, near Athens, Greece, January 29, 2026.

Louiza Vradi/Reuters

The French Navy has intercepted a boat that was carrying cocaine and handed it over to the Barbadian authorities, France's Armed Forces Minister said on Thursday, as the United States and other countries step up their fight against drug trafficking.

Catherine Vautrin wrote on X that around 678 kilogrammes of cocaine had been seized.

France, which has overseas territories in the Caribbean and Latin American regions, has been pushing a more aggressive policy in recent months on drug trafficking.

The French Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction published a report in December saying that cocaine had overtaken cannabis as the leading illegal drug in France.

Gang-related drug crime is on the rise in France, and during a visit to Colombia, the world's largest cocaine producer, France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot launched a multi-pronged plan to fight an explosion of drug trafficking in Latin America, the Caribbean and increasingly Europe.

Paris has been pushing for a European Union sanctions regime to tackle the issue.

-Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by John Irish/Reuters