United States President Donald Trump shared a video of a US military strike on a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean as he also confirmed that two survivors from the vessel would be repatriated to their home countries of Ecuador and Colombia “for detention and prosecution”. The pair were rescued by the navy after it hit a submersible on Thursday, October 16, in at least the sixth such attack since early September.
In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump called the destruction of a drug ship by US missiles “his honor” because he claimed it was loaded with fentanyl and other narcotics.
“I had the great honor of destroying a very large DRUG SUBMARINE that was sailing toward the United States along a well-known transit route for narcotics smuggling. U.S. intelligence has confirmed that this vessel was loaded predominantly with fentanyl and other illegal narcotics,” said Donald Trump.
He continued that there were four known narco-terrorists on board the vessel. The Republican president said two people on board had been killed.
“Two of the terrorists were killed. At least 25,000 Americans would have died if I had allowed this submarine to come ashore. The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution,” he said.
The US president went on to add: “No US forces were harmed in this strike. Under my watch, the United States of America will not tolerate narco-terrorists trafficking illegal drugs by land or sea.”
The strike, which Trump announced on Friday, October 17, was the latest in an unprecedented US military campaign that he says is aimed at stemming the flow of drugs from Latin America to the United States. Also read | Is the CIA conducting “covert operations” inside Venezuela? Trump says he’s ‘looking at the country for more strikes’
At least six vessels, mostly motorboats, have been targeted by US strikes in the Caribbean since September, with some reportedly originating from Venezuela. Washington says his campaign has dealt a decisive blow to the drug trade, but has yet to provide evidence that at least 27 of the people killed were actually drug smugglers.
Meanwhile, the United States Embassy in Trinidad and Tobago has urged Americans to avoid US government facilities in the two-island country. The recommendation comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Venezuela following deadly US strikes in Caribbean waters targeting suspected drug traffickers.
