NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
President Donald Trump said Saturday that a U.S. military strike destroyed a “very large drug-carrying submarine” in the Caribbean this week, killing two suspected narcoterrorists and capturing two others alive, while releasing video of the strike.
In a statement posted to Truth Social, Trump said the vessel was carrying mostly “fentanyl and other narcotics” toward the U.S. on a “well known narcotrafficking transit route.” He claimed the interdiction prevented as many as 25,000 American overdose deaths.
“It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE,” Trump wrote. “U.S. Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl… There were four known narcoterrorists on board. 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.”
US MILITARY SEIZED SURVIVORS AFTER CARIBBEAN DRONE STRIKE ON SUSPECTED DRUG SMUGGLING BOAT: REPORT
Fox News previously confirmed that two survivors were rescued by the U.S. Navy after the strike, and were being held aboard an American warship. Trump’s statement is the first official acknowledgment of their identities and nationalities.
The strike marked the sixth U.S. interdiction of a suspected drug smuggling vessel since combat operations began in the Caribbean last month. The Pentagon has not publicly named the operation.
Trump first referenced the strike publicly during a meeting Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
US MILITARY DRONE STRIKE ON DRUG ‘SUBMERSIBLE’ IN CARIBBEAN LEAVES SURVIVORS, OFFICIAL CONFIRMS
“We attacked a submarine, and that was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs,” he told reporters.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking separately Friday, did not dispute the existence of survivors but said further details would be released later.
Earlier this week, Trump confirmed he had authorized CIA activity in the region. U.S. Air Force B-52s also flew a visible “show of force” mission near Venezuelan waters on Thursday.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.