Washington, D.C.: President Donald Trump announced Saturday that the U.S. military had destroyed a suspected drug-carrying semi-submersible vessel in the Caribbean, which was reportedly en route to American shores. The operation, Trump claimed, prevented a potential mass casualty event.
“It was my great honor to destroy a very large drug-carrying submarine navigating toward the United States on a well-known narcotrafficking route,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that the vessel was primarily loaded with fentanyl and other illicit narcotics.
Trump said two people on board were killed in the strike, while two others were rescued by U.S. forces. The survivors, citizens of Ecuador and Colombia, were repatriated to their home countries for detention and prosecution.
“At least 25,000 Americans would have died if I allowed this submarine to come ashore,” Trump warned, emphasizing that no U.S. forces were harmed during the operation.
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Strike Footage and Details
The Pentagon released a black-and-white video showing the semi-submersible gliding through the waves, its front partially submerged, before explosions hit, one detonating over the vessel’s rear. The strike marked at least the sixth U.S. action against semi-submersibles suspected of drug trafficking in the Caribbean since early September, bringing the regional death toll from such operations to 29, including previous strikes.
Legal Justification and Military Build-Up
Trump framed the campaign as part of an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, invoking legal authorities similar to those used by the George W. Bush administration in the post-9/11 war on terror. This framework allows U.S. forces to capture combatants and use lethal force against cartel leaders, treating traffickers as enemy combatants in a conventional conflict.
The campaign coincides with a U.S. military build-up in the Caribbean, which includes guided missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine, and approximately 6,500 troops, amid escalating tensions with the Venezuelan government.
International Reactions
Colombian President Gustavo Petro confirmed the repatriation of the Colombian detainee, stating, “We are glad he is alive, and he will be prosecuted according to the law.” Ecuador’s government indicated it had no immediate comment on the repatriation of its citizen.
Trump reiterated,
“America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea.”
The operation underscores the Trump administration’s intensified stance against narcoterrorism and highlights the scale of the threat posed by cartel-linked trafficking routes approaching U.S. territory.
