United States President Donald Trump shared a video of an American military strike on a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, as he also confirmed that the two survivors from the vessel would be repatriated to Ecuador and Colombia, their home countries, “for detention and prosecution.” The military rescued the pair after striking a submersible vessel Thursday, October 16, in what was at least the sixth such attack since early September.
In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump called the destruction of the drug vessel by American missiles “his honour,” as he claimed that it was loaded with fentanyl and other narcotics.
“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. U.S. Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics,” Donald Trump said.
He continued that there were four known narcoterrorists on board the vessel. The Republican president said two people onboard were killed.
“Two of the terrorists were killed. At least 25,000 Americans would die if I 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 further added: “No US Forces were harmed in this strike. Under my watch, the United States of America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea.”
The strike, which Trump had announced on Friday, October 17, was the latest in an unprecedented US military campaign that he says is aimed at choking the flow of drugs from Latin America to the United States. Also Read | Is CIA conducting ‘covert operations’ inside Venezuela? Trump says ‘looking at land for further strikes’
At least six vessels, most of them speedboats, have been targeted by US strikes in the Caribbean since September, with Venezuela alleged to be the origin of some of them. Washington has claimed its campaign is delivering a decisive blow to drug trafficking, but has yet to provide evidence that the at least 27 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 twin-island nation. The advisory comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Venezuela following deadly US strikes in Caribbean waters targeting suspected drug traffickers.
