The attack announced by President Trump on October 18 marks the sixth time since September that the United States has targeted a suspected drug-trafficking vessel.
President Trump considers ground attack on cartels after Caribbean ship attack
President Donald Trump has said a ground attack on drug cartels is possible after a boat crash in the Caribbean that left multiple people dead.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. attack destroyed a submarine carrying illegal narcotics and killed two people on board, but two other passengers survived and were being repatriated to their home countries.
The attack announced by President Trump on October 18 marks the sixth time since September that the United States has targeted a suspected drug-trafficking vessel. The strike has left at least 29 people dead and has drawn criticism from legal experts and lawmakers from both parties.
President Trump said intelligence experts confirmed the submarine was “loaded with fentanyl.” One of the survivors will be sent to Ecuador and the other to Colombia “for detention and prosecution,” the president said.
“On my watch, the United States will not tolerate narco-terrorists who traffic illegal drugs by land or sea,” Trump wrote on social media.
The Trump administration has said the targeted ships were carrying drugs and labeled the passengers “narco-terrorists,” but it has not yet submitted evidence of either suspicion to Congress, and lawmakers have called for a curtailment of the airstrikes.
In October, Republican senators blocked a bill pushed by Democrats Adam Schiff of California and Tim Kaine of Virginia that would have halted operations against boats in the Caribbean and would have reined in President Trump’s military actions without Congressional approval.
President Trump designated some drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations” in February, a move that officials say gives them legal justification for attacks.
The president has indicated he may go further and order land strikes to combat drug leaks from Venezuelan cartels.
President Trump told reporters on October 15: “We are certainly looking to the land now because the oceans are well controlled.”
Contributors: Joey Garrison, Cybele Mayes-Osterman
