Daijiworld Media Network – Washington

Washington, Oct 19: President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the United States is sending two suspected drug traffickers back to their home countries, Ecuador and Colombia, following a military strike on a “drug-smuggling submarine” in the Caribbean that killed two others.

Trump, on Truth Social, said the submarine, loaded with fentanyl and other drugs, was en route to the US along a known narcotrafficking route. “Two of the terrorists were killed. The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their countries of origin…for detention and prosecution,” he stated.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro confirmed the repatriation of the Colombian suspect, noting he would be prosecuted under Colombian law.

The strike, first announced by Trump on Friday, is part of a broader US campaign targeting vessels suspected of transporting drugs from Latin America to the United States. Since September, at least six such vessels, mostly speedboats, have been targeted in the Caribbean, with some allegedly originating from Venezuela.

While Washington claims the campaign is disrupting drug trafficking, experts have raised concerns over legality, noting that at least 27 people killed so far have not been publicly verified as traffickers. Semi-submersibles like the one targeted have long been used to transport cocaine from South America, especially Colombia, to Central America or Mexico.