TL;DR
- Two survivors of a US airstrike targeting a “drug-carrying submarine” have been repatriated to Colombia and Ecuador following their rescue by US military forces after the incident that resulted in two fatalities.
- President Trump emphasised the operation as a part of an ongoing military campaign against narco-trafficking, asserting that the intercepted vessel was primarily loaded with Fentanyl and other illegal drugs.
- The airstrike and subsequent military actions have raised concerns regarding legality, as previous operations in the Caribbean reportedly resulted in numerous fatalities amid a US military buildup in the region.
US airstrike destroyed ‘drug-carrying submarine’, says Trump – as survivors repatriated
Two survivors of a US airstrike, targeting what Donald Trump has described as a “drug-carrying submarine” in the Caribbean, have been repatriated to their home countries.
The US president posted footage of Thursday’s operation, part of a recent military campaign targeting boats transporting drugs to America.
“It was my great honour to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narco-trafficking transit route,” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“US intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics,” he added.
The US military staged a helicopter rescue for the survivors on Thursday after the strike on their semi-submersible
vessel, suspected of trafficking illegal narcotics. They were then transported to a US Navy warship.
Two other crew members on board were killed.
President Trump confirmed the survivors would be returned to their home countries of Colombia and Ecuador “for detention and prosecution”. Both countries subsequently confirmed they had been handed over.
“America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea,” he added.
On Saturday, Colombian President Gustavo Petro posted on X: “We have received the Colombian detained on the narco submarine, we are happy he is alive and he will be processed according to the law.”