DEA Head Claims Cocaine Prices Are Rising Because Of U.S. Strikes Against Alleged Drug Vessels: 'Due To Immense Pressure'

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Terry Cole said cocaine prices in the U.S. are increasing as a result of the Trump administration's strikes against alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.

"Cocaine is getting more expensive. And I think what it is — not only more expensive in the U.S., but we're seeing it become more expensive at first stops. So more expensive in Puerto Rico, more expensive in the Dominican, more expensive once it lands in Guatemala and Honduras and Central America," Cole told CBS News.

He went on to specify that cocaine prices have increased between 30% and 45% per kilogram. "It's now more expensive to recruit boat captains, it's more expensive to purchase engines, it's more expensive to build larger boats for transportation," Cole added, noting it is all a result of "immense pressure."

The U.S. has conducted more than 20 strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific as it continues its military pressure campaign against the Venezuelan regime, which the Trump administration claims leads a cartel flooding the country with drugs.

The claim, however, stands in contrast with that of a top U.S. Coast Guard official, who said the attacks have not significantly altered cocaine smuggling routes in the Atlantic.

Speaking to the same outlet, Adm. Nathan Moore, the commander of Coast Guard Atlantic Area, said the force has not seen "any noticeable difference" in the flow of cocaine in the region.

He made the claim after the Coast Guard seized almost 50,000 pounds of cocaine, which have a street value of more than $360 million. It was the "most cocaine ever seized by a single cutter in one deployment, so business is good," Moore said.

Moore also told the outlet that there have not been major changes in routes or pace in the region, or in drug purity, despite the strikes.