US Military Strikes Drug Submarine in Caribbean: Trump Claims Prevention of 25,000 American Deaths

President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the United States has repatriated two suspected drug traffickers to Ecuador and Colombia following a military operation that destroyed their "drug-smuggling submarine" in Caribbean waters, resulting in two fatalities.

"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 declared on his Truth Social platform, stating that the vessel contained fentanyl and other narcotics.

Trump elaborated: "Two of the terrorists were killed. The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution."

Colombian President Gustavo Petro subsequently confirmed the Colombian suspect's repatriation, stating: "We are glad he is alive and he will be prosecuted according to the law," via the social media platform X.

This military action, which Trump initially announced on Friday, represents the latest development in an unprecedented US military campaign purportedly aimed at disrupting drug flows from Latin America to the United States.

Since September, US forces have targeted at least six vessels in Caribbean waters, primarily speedboats, with Venezuela allegedly serving as the point of origin for some of these crafts.

While Washington claims these operations are delivering decisive blows against drug trafficking networks, authorities have not provided evidence confirming that the casualties—at least 27 individuals to date—were engaged in drug smuggling activities.

Experts in international law have raised concerns, asserting that such summary killings violate legal principles even if targeting confirmed narcotics traffickers.

The US government has not disclosed the departure location of the alleged submarine.

Semi-submersible vessels constructed in clandestine jungle facilities have long been employed to transport cocaine from South American nations, particularly Colombia, to Central American or Mexican destinations, typically via Pacific Ocean routes.