Acting DHS chief visits Florida personnel

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Kevin K. McAleenan met with Coast Guard, National Hurricane Center (NHC) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) personnel during his recent trip to Florida.

McAleenan traveled to Fort Lauderdale and Miami and while there visited with the crew of the Cutter Hamilton, which had just returned to Port Everglades after confiscating drugs that included over 26,000 pounds of cocaine worth an estimated $348 million wholesale and over 1,400 pounds of marijuana worth an estimated $1.3 million seized in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

“I am proud of the work our U.S. Coast Guard does to combat transnational criminal organizations who profit from human misery through human and drug trafficking, exacerbate crime levels in the region, and pump dangerous drugs into our country,” McAleenan said. “DHS has a strong interagency partnership to disrupt, dismantle, and prosecute these proliferators of crime.”

While touring the NHC, McAleenan was briefed on operational priorities, capabilities, and goals of the NHC, as well as their outlook for the 2019 hurricane season.

Miami International Airport TSA personnel gathered with McAleenan to discuss challenges to aviation security. McAleenan observed a computed tomography machine demonstration. The device allows screeners to have a more comprehensive, 3-D view of potentially threatening items.