Washington, Oct 19: US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that a US military strike destroyed a drug-laden submarine allegedly bound for the country, killing two “narcoterrorists” and capturing two others. The operation, he claimed, may have saved “at least 25,000 American lives.”
In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump said the vessel was intercepted while traveling along a known narcotics route and was carrying large quantities of fentanyl and other illegal substances. “It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating toward the United States on a well-known narcotrafficking transit route,” he wrote.
The President said the two survivors, citizens of Ecuador and Colombia, would be handed over to their home countries for detention and prosecution. “The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution,” Trump stated, adding that no American personnel were injured.
“No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike,” he said. “Under my watch, the United States of America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea.”
According to Al Jazeera, the submarine was struck Thursday, and US forces rescued the two survivors by helicopter before transferring them to a nearby US Navy warship, where they were reportedly held through Friday evening.
Trump said intelligence reports confirmed that the submarine was loaded mainly with fentanyl, one of the deadliest synthetic opioids fueling the US overdose crisis. “There were four known narcoterrorists on board the vessel. Two of the terrorists were killed,” he wrote, asserting that “at least 25,000 Americans would die if I allowed this submarine to come ashore.”
The US military has conducted a series of similar operations in the Caribbean since September, targeting suspected smuggling vessels — mostly speedboats — some believed to have originated from Venezuela. Officials in Washington have described the campaign as a significant step in curbing drug trafficking into the United States.
However, Al Jazeera reported that the US has yet to publicly present conclusive evidence linking those killed in the strikes to organized narcotics networks. Trump’s confirmation of the latest operation raises the total number of people killed in such US-led actions in the region to at least 29.
The President’s remarks underscore his administration’s renewed focus on combating international narcotics routes, particularly those involving fentanyl, which has become a central issue in US domestic policy debates.
