US to repatriate survivors of strike on ‘drug-carrying submarine’, Trump says

President Donald Trump said the United States will return two survivors of a so-called “drug submarine” strike to their countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia.

Writing on social media, Trump said two more people were killed in the US strike on the vessel, which he said US intelligence had confirmed was “loaded primarily with fentanyl and other illegal drugs.”

Attack on Thursday This is at least the sixth US strike on ships in the Caribbean in recent weeks. Survivors are reported for the first time.

The previous five boat strikes in Venezuelan waters have killed at least 27 people, according to data released by the administration.

The two survivors were rescued by a US military helicopter and then flown to a US warship in the Caribbean, unnamed US officials previously told US media.

In recent weeks, Trump has stepped up threats against Venezuela's leadership over allegations that the country is sending drugs to the United States. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused Trump of trying to make the South American country an “American colony.”

Trump has defended the ongoing attacks on the boats, saying they are aimed at stopping the flow of drugs from Latin America into the United States, but his government has not provided evidence or details about the identity of the vessels or those on board.

“It was my great honor to destroy a very large drug submarine that was heading toward the United States along a well-known drug transit route,” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Saturday.

“The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for capture and prosecution.”

He added that no American troops were injured in the attack.

On Friday, the US president said the submarine that was targeted in the latest attack “was built specifically to transport huge amounts of drugs.”

“This was not an innocent group of people. I don't know many people who have submarines, and this was an attack on a drug-laden submarine,” he added.

UN-appointed human rights experts called the US strikes “extrajudicial killings.”

Earlier, Trump told reporters that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela and was considering the possibility of launching attacks on Venezuelan soil.

Narco submarines have become a popular way to transport drugs because they can remain undetected and can be sunk after delivery. They are often homemade and made from fiberglass and plywood.

The US, as well as other coastal countries, have intercepted some of these submarines in the past.