Sea Turtle is found floating with $53,000,000 worth of drugs in the Ocean.

The seizure was part of Operation Martillo, which was created to save thousands of animals in the ocean.In November, hundreds of dead sea turtles were found by environmental officials floating off the coast of El Salvador. An international operation involving 18 countries targeting criminal organizations moving illicit cargo was then setup to help save these creatures from trash that is going into the waters. There are multiple videos where animals have been trapped inside cans or plastic materials which most the time results in death. Operation Martillo (Hammer) is a U.S., European, and Western Hemisphere effort targeting illicit trafficking routes in coastal waters along the Central American isthmus. U.S. military participation is led by Joint Interagency Task Force South, a component of U.S. Southern Command.

Since its launch Jan. 15, 2012, Martillo has supported the seizure of 693 metric tons of cocaine, $25 million in bulk cash, 581 vessels and aircraft detained and the arrest of 1,863 detainees.Their main objective is to contribute to The U.S. & multinational detection of drugs, monitoring and interdiction operation includes U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels, aircraft from U.S. federal law enforcement agencies, and military and law enforcement units from various nations working together to deny transnational criminal organizations the ability to exploit these transshipment routes for the movement of narcotics, precursor chemicals, bulk cash, and weapons along Central American shipping routes. Operation Martillo is a critical component of the U.S. government’s coordinated interagency regional security strategy in support of the White House Strategy to Combat Transnational Organized Crime and the U.S. Central America Regional Security Initiative. Fourteen countries are participating: Belize, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States. Chile has also contributed to the operation.

Fourteen countries are participating in Operation Martillo: Belize, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Spain, United Kingdom and the United States. Chile has also contributed to the operation.“They saw significant chaffing from the lines on his neck and flippers,” said the US Coast Guard.“They briefed the commanding officer and went to work, carefully cutting the lines wrapped around the sea turtle and then eventually freeing him.“The boat crew recovered over 75-feet of line to prevent further entanglement of sea life and returned to the law enforcement mission recovering over 1,800 pounds of cocaine valued at over $53 million dollars from international waters.”