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Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy. We need your help. More Info ### I would like to contribute One Time Monthly Yearly Join Now ![](\\" ![](\\" Bloggers stated on July 9, 2016 in a story: Ninety pounds of cocaine was found on a boat owned by Mitch McConnell\'s family and that they are “financing his Senate campaigns with their cocaine drug profits.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" mostly-false/6a6ef6075c162fdccf5eb960e683dcd1.jpg.\\") ![\\"barely- true\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") * Drugs * Facebook Fact-checks * Bloggers ![\\"Secretary](\\" Secretary of Transportation-designate Elaine Chao sits with her father James Chao in Washington in 2017, prior to the start of her confirmation hearing where her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell introduced her. (Associated Press) ![\\"Samantha](\\" By Samantha Putterman February 26, 2020 # Story exaggerates 2014 drug bust on cargo ship owned by McConnell’s family #### If Your Time is short * Colombian authorities found cocaine hidden on a cargo ship belonging to a company owned by Mitch McConnell’s family. This happened in 2014. * No one was charged in the seizure. * There is no evidence that members of McConnell’s family are drug smugglers. See the sources for this fact-check Cocaine Mitch? A story from 2016 about a drug bust in Colombia insinuates that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., profits from drug smuggling. The story was published by a website called \"WarAgainstAllPuertoRicans.com,\" which appears to reference a quote by former Puerto Rico police chief, E. Francis Riggs. The headline reads: \"90 Pounds of Cocaine discovered on a boat owned by the family of Mitch McConnell, the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate.\" A cargo ship owned by McConnell’s family was found with cocaine aboard, but the story overstates the incident and suggests without evidence that the family smuggles drugs. The story was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.) In August 2014, Colombian authorities discovered around 90 pounds of cocaine on a cargo ship scheduled to head to the Netherlands. U.S. Coast Guard and maritime records show that the Ping May is a Liberian-registered bulk carrier owned by the Foremost Group, a New York-based shipping company that controls at least five other vessels. The company was founded by James Chao, McConnell’s father-in-law. But McConnell’s connection to the seizure is a thin one: No one in the family was named in the incident, and there is no sign that charges were ever filed. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Facebook posts stated on August 30, 2024 in a post \"Samsung drops out of $1 billion advertising campaign with Olympics.\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • August 2, 2024 McConnell’s office did not respond to a request for comment. The story falsely states McConnell was \"linked to the distribution and sale of the cocaine\" and speculates, without evidence, that his wife’s family are smugglers and his political career benefits from drug money. But the story goes further by stating that McConnell’s family has been \"financing his Senate campaigns with their cocaine drug profits.\" McConnell’s wife, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, received an inheritance valued between $5 million and $25 million after her mother died in 2007. This was years before the 2014 seizure, and there’s no proven connection to a drug business. Our ruling In 2014, cocaine was discovered on one of the cargo ships owned by McConnell’s family. But the story exaggerates the seizure and McConnel’s connection. It speculates that, because officials found cocaine on the carrier, the company owned by McConnell’s father-in-law smuggles drugs internationally and uses the money to fund McConnell’s political pursuits. There’s no evidence to support this. No one was charged in the seizure — not the crew, Foremost Group, the Chaos or McConnell. We rate this Mostly False. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources WebArchive.org, 90 Pounds of Cocaine discovered on a boat owned by the family of Mitch McConnell, the Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, Accessed Feb. 25, 2020 WebArchive.org, Colombian Navy press release: Seized 40 kilograms of cocaine on Liberia ship, Aug. 25, 2014 The Nation, Mitch McConnell’s Freighted Ties to a Shadowy Shipping Company, Oct. 30, 2014 Washington Post, The kooky tale of ‘Cocaine Mitch’, May 4, 2018 Snopes, Did U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell Own a Cargo Ship Found Carrying 90 Lbs. of Cocaine?, April 1, 2019 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Samantha Putterman ![](\\" ![](\\" Elizabeth Warren stated on August 25, 2024 in an interview: “JD Vance actually sent a letter last year to the Department of Justice saying, ‘enforce the Comstock Act.’” ![\\"true\\"](\\" ![\\"true\\"](\\" By Samantha Putterman • August 30, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Ron DeSantis stated on August 28, 2024 in a press conference: The proposal to put golf courses, hotels in Florida state parks “was something that was leaked. … a lot of that stuff was half-baked and was not ready for prime time.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Rick Scott stated on August 28, 2024 in a post on X: “This month alone, more than 16,000 non-citizens have been removed from the voter rolls in 3 states.” ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"half-true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By Samantha Putterman • August 29, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Debbie Mucarsel-Powell stated on August 7, 2024 in un anuncio de radio de campaña: El senador Rick Scott no apoya las excepciones al aborto. ![\\"false\\"](\\" ![\\"false\\"](\\" By Marta Campabadal Graus • August 16, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Debbie Mucarsel-Powell stated on August 7, 2024 in an ad: Sen. 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Ninety pounds of cocaine was found on a boat owned by Mitch McConnell's family and that they are financing his Senate campaigns with their cocaine drug profits