US will return the two survivors of Thursday’s US military strike on a suspected drug-carrying submarine in the Caribbean to their home countries, president Trump confirmed on Friday.In a Truth Social post, Trump the two survivors will be returned to their home countries, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution. He wrote: “It was my great honour to destroy a very large drug-carrying submarine that was navigating towards the United States on a well-known narcotrafficking transit route. US. 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. At least 25,000 Americans would die if I allowed this submarine to come ashore. The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution. No US 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 added.Officials spent Friday and Saturday morning deciding what to do with the men, the first known survivors from six US military strikes in the region since September, CNN had earlier reported.The survivors were taken into US military custody after the strike, marking the first time the Trump administration’s anti-drug operations have led to prisoners being held. On Thursday, US forces struck a suspected drug-carrying submarine, leaving several people alive. There is a significant US military presence in the Caribbean, which Washington says targets drug cartels linked to Venezuela. Earlier this week, B-52 bombers circled the Caribbean off Venezuela’s coast, while seven US Navy ships have been deployed as part of counter-narcotics operations. The build-up has raised fears in Caracas that the US may be seeking regime change.
