WASHINGTON — The United States is sending the two survivors of a Thursday strike in the Caribbean to their home countries of Colombia and Ecuador to be detained and prosecuted, President Donald Trump announced today.
The move, first reported by Reuters, means that the U.S. military will avoid complex legal issues surrounding military detention of suspected drug traffickers. Legal experts note that the alleged crimes do not fall neatly under the laws of war.
“The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Both men have since arrived in their home countries, according to authorities from Colombia and Ecuador.
“We have received the Colombian detained on the narco submarine. We are happy he is alive and he will be processed according to the law,” Colombian President Gustavo Petro said on X this afternoon, providing no further details.
An Ecuadorian survivor returned to his country around 11 a.m. local time, a government source who was not authorized to speak publicly confirmed. He will also be legally processed. Ecuador’s communications office and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The U.S. military staged a helicopter rescue on Thursday for the survivors after striking their semi-submersible vessel, suspected of trafficking illegal narcotics. The strike killed the other two crew members onboard. The survivors were flown to a U.S. Navy warship in the Caribbean following the rescue.
In his social media post, Trump stated, “U.S. Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics.” Though he did not provide evidence, he posted a roughly 30-second video appearing to show a semi-submersible vessel in the water before being hit by at least one projectile.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, Trump described the strike as targeting “a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs.”
The Trump administration has previously reported that earlier strikes killed 27 people, raising concerns among some legal experts and Democratic lawmakers about adherence to the laws of war.
These strikes take place amid a significant U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, which includes guided missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine, and approximately 6,500 troops. This escalation is part of President Trump’s increasing standoff with the Venezuelan government.
On Wednesday, Trump revealed he had authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela. This revelation has fueled speculation in Caracas that the U.S. is attempting to topple Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
Maduro has denied any involvement in drug smuggling and condemned the U.S. boat strikes as a pretext for regime change. He characterized the strikes as violations of Venezuela’s sovereignty and international law.
In a letter this week to the United Nations Security Council, seen by Reuters, Venezuela’s U.N. Ambassador Samuel Moncada called for a U.N. determination that the U.S. strikes off its coast are illegal and requested a statement supporting Venezuela’s sovereignty.
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