The operation, which killed two people, was conducted on Thursday. This is the sixth strike conducted by the US on ships in the Caribbean Sea in the past few weeks.
The United States (US) has destroyed a suspected ‘drug-carrying’ submarine in the Caribbean, said the White House on Sunday. The submarine, the White House said, was navigating towards the US on a “well-known narcotrafficking transit route”.
The operation, which killed two people, was conducted on Thursday. This is the sixth strike conducted by the US on ships in the Caribbean Sea in the past few weeks. In the previous five strikes, 27 people were killed, as per the Trump administration.
‘25,000 Americans would’ve died’
In a post on Truth Social, Trump hailed the operation and claimed that 25,000 Americans would have died had the submarine be allowed to reach the US shores. But Trump said that the two people who survived the attack will be repatriated to their countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for “detention and prosecution”.
“At least 25,000 Americans would die if I allowed this submarine to come ashore,” Trump said, adding that it was his ‘great honour’ to destroy the a ‘very large’ drug-carrying submarine. “No U.S. 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has confirmed that a country’s citizen has been nabbed by the US authorities and will be repatriated to Colombia where he will prosecuted. “We received the Colombian detained in the narco submarine; we are glad that he is alive and he will be processed in accordance with the laws,” Petro posted on X (previously Twitter).
Trump’s actions against drug
Trump has focused a lot on stopping the flow of drugs to the US from Latin America. He has also defended his administration’s strikes on vessels carrying drugs in the region. However, UN-appointed human rights experts have criticised his actions, calling them “extrajudicial executions”.
