Washington DC [US], October 19 : US President Donald Trump on Saturday (local time) stated that two "narcoterrorists" were killed in a US military strike on a drug-carrying submarine en route to the country, while two other suspects survived and will be repatriated to their countries of origin for prosecution.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the submarine was intercepted while navigating a known narco-trafficking route and was reportedly carrying large quantities of fentanyl and other illicit drugs.
"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," Trump wrote.
"U.S. Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics. There were four known narcoterrorists on board the vessel. Two of the terrorists were killed," he added.
Trump claimed that the interdiction potentially saved thousands of American lives, asserting that "at least 25,000 Americans would die if I allowed this submarine to come ashore."
According to the US President, the two surviving individuals are from Ecuador and Colombia and will be returned to their home countries for detention and legal proceedings.
"The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution," he said, noting that no US personnel were harmed during the operation.
"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!" he concluded.
According to Al Jazeera, the vessel was struck on Thursday, and the remaining two survivors were rescued by US forces via helicopter and transported to a nearby US Navy warship.
The US military reportedly held the two survivors aboard the ship at least through Friday evening.
Since September, the US has conducted strikes on at least six vessels, mostly speedboats, in the Caribbean, some of which are believed to have originated from Venezuela, Al Jazeera reported.
While Washington claims the campaign is delivering a significant blow to narcotics trafficking, it has yet to present concrete evidence proving that those killed were involved in smuggling operations.
As per Al Jazeera, Trump's statement confirming the latest fatalities brings the total number of people killed by US strikes on suspected smuggling vessels in the region to at least 29.
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