Washington, DC [US], October 19 (ANI): US President Donald Trump announced that two surviving “narcoterrorists” from a semi-submersible vessel destroyed by the US military in the Caribbean will be repatriated to their home countries of Ecuador and Colombia, Al Jazeera reported.
“It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well-known narcotrafficking transit route,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.
He stated that US intelligence confirmed the vessel was carrying fentanyl and other narcotics. The strike, conducted on Thursday, was aimed at disrupting a major drug trafficking route. Two crew members were killed, while two others survived and were airlifted by US forces in a helicopter rescue operation to a nearby US Navy warship. The survivors were held aboard the vessel at least until Friday evening, according to Al Jazeera.
Ecuador’s government press office said it was unaware of any plans for repatriation, and Colombian authorities have yet to issue a statement.
Trump justified the strikes by asserting that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, invoking the same legal authority used by former President George W. Bush’s administration during the post-9/11 “war on terror.” This includes the ability to capture and detain combatants and use lethal force to eliminate their leadership.
Trump’s approach treats suspected traffickers as enemy combatants in a traditional war, Al Jazeera reported.
Since September, at least six vessels—mostly speedboats—have been targeted by US strikes in the Caribbean, with some reportedly originating from Venezuela. Washington claims its campaign is delivering a decisive blow to drug trafficking, though it has not provided evidence that those killed were drug smugglers.
With Trump’s latest confirmation of the death toll, US military actions against such vessels in the region have now killed at least 29 people. (ANI)
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