(MENAFN) US President Donald Trump stated that two individuals who survived a US military strike on what he described as a “drug-carrying submarine” will be returned to their home countries, Ecuador and Colombia.

In a social media post, Trump said that two other people aboard the vessel were killed in the strike, which US intelligence reportedly confirmed was “loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics.”

The Thursday attack marks at least the sixth US operation targeting boats in the Caribbean in recent weeks. It is the first instance in which survivors have been reported. Previous strikes in the waters off Venezuela reportedly resulted in at least 27 deaths, according to administration figures.

Unnamed US officials told media that the two survivors were rescued by a US military helicopter and transferred to a US warship in the Caribbean. Colombian President Gustavo Petro confirmed the arrival of the Colombian survivor, stating on X: “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.”

Trump has recently intensified warnings to Venezuela’s leadership, accusing it of facilitating the flow of drugs into the United States. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has condemned these actions, claiming Trump is attempting to make Venezuela “an American colony.”

Trump defended the strike, emphasizing that the operation targeted a vessel specifically built to transport large quantities of narcotics. “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,” he wrote. “The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution.” He added that no US military personnel were injured in the operation.

On Friday, the president described the submarine as “built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs” and insisted that the operation was not aimed at innocent civilians.

UN-appointed human rights experts have previously criticized the US strikes as “extrajudicial executions.” Trump also told reporters that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela and was considering potential attacks on Venezuelan soil.

Narco-submarines, often constructed from fiberglass and plywood, have become a common method for smuggling drugs because they are difficult to detect and can be sunk after delivery. The US and other coastal nations have intercepted such vessels in the past.

MENAFN19102025000045017640ID1110215925