Following a recent American military operation targeting a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, the two survivors will be repatriated to Ecuador and Colombia, their respective home countries, according to U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement on Saturday.
The military successfully rescued the survivors after engaging a submersible vessel on Thursday, marking the sixth such operation since early September.
In a social media post, Trump expressed pride in destroying a large drug-carrying submarine heading towards the United States on a known narcotrafficking route. He stated that U.S. Intelligence had confirmed the vessel was transporting mainly Fentanyl and other illegal narcotics.
Subsequently, the Pentagon shared a brief black-and-white video of the strike on X, showing the vessel moving through the water with a section submerged below the surface before multiple explosions occurred, including one at the rear of the vessel.
Notably, Trump revised the number of casualties, confirming two fatalities instead of the previously reported one. The surviving individuals are set to be sent to their home countries for legal proceedings.
With the acknowledgment from Trump on his Truth Social platform about the death toll, the total number of individuals killed in U.S. military operations against vessels in the region now stands at a minimum of 29.
The president has defended these actions by asserting that the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, utilizing legal authority akin to the George W. Bush administration’s post-9/11 declaration of a war on terrorism. This approach allows for capturing and detaining combatants and employing lethal force against their leadership, treating suspected traffickers as enemy combatants in a conventional warfare scenario.
The decision to repatriate the survivors avoids potential legal complexities within the U.S. justice system and circumvents issues related to detaining enemy combatants in the global war on terrorism, as well as challenges to the legality of the current operations.
Critics argue that Trump’s use of military force against suspected drug cartels and his authorization of covert actions in Venezuela, possibly to remove President Nicolas Maduro, may push the boundaries of international law.
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Images sourced from Getty Images, The Canadian Press, and Reuters.
On the previous day, Trump appeared to confirm reports of Maduro offering shares in Venezuela’s natural resources to the U.S. to alleviate pressure. Venezuelan officials also discussed a plan for Maduro’s eventual exit, which was reportedly rejected by the White House, as per The Associated Press.
The military operations in the Caribbean have raised concerns among bipartisan members of Congress regarding the