President Donald Trump confirmed Friday that two suspected “narcoterrorists” were killed and two others captured after a U.S. military strike destroyed a Venezuelan drug submarine in the Caribbean Sea.
The president said the vessel was carrying “mostly fentanyl and other illegal narcotics” bound for the United States when it was targeted late Thursday night. Trump released a dramatic image showing the moment of impact and praised American forces for executing the mission without casualties, the Daily Mail reported.
“Under my watch, the United States of America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea,” Trump said in a statement.
Two of the suspected traffickers died in the strike, while two others survived and were pulled from the water by U.S. Navy and Coast Guard helicopters. Trump said the survivors will be returned to their home countries, Ecuador and Colombia, to face detention and prosecution there.
“No U.S. troops were injured in the operation,” Trump said, calling it “a message to every cartel and every dictator who enables them.”
The strike took place late Thursday as the vessel traveled through international waters near Venezuela, according to defense officials.
During a cabinet meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said the submarine was carrying a “massive amount of drugs” and dismissed suggestions that the targets were anything other than hostile operatives.
“Just so you understand, this was not an innocent group of people,” Trump said.
Intelligence analysts monitoring the operation determined the submarine was smuggling narcotics before the strike, officials told The New York Times. Video footage reportedly showed the two survivors floating among debris before being rescued and brought aboard a nearby ship equipped with medical facilities.
Two sources familiar with the matter told The Washington Post that the survivors were unharmed. It remains unclear whether they have ties to Venezuelan criminal organizations.
The president’s decision to repatriate the survivors marks a shift from previous administrations, which often detained captured traffickers or combatants for prosecution in the U.S. federal system.
“This is a different kind of war,” one senior administration official said. “We are using every tool available to dismantle these operations where they begin — not where they end.”
The strike is the latest in a series of U.S. operations targeting Venezuelan narcotics networks. According to The Washington Post, elite U.S. Special Operations aviation forces recently flew within 90 miles of Venezuela’s coast to conduct training missions in preparation for potential land operations against drug traffickers.
Over the past two months, the U.S. military has destroyed five Venezuelan vessels carrying narcotics in the Caribbean, resulting in roughly 27 deaths, defense sources said.
The escalation comes as part of Trump’s broader crackdown on drug cartels across Latin America and the Caribbean. Last week, the Pentagon announced the deployment of more than 4,000 Marines and sailors to the region to support anti-smuggling and interdiction efforts.
Trump has also authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to conduct operations inside Venezuela, calling the move necessary to “neutralize threats before they reach American shores.”
Earlier this week, the president revealed on Truth Social that the Secretary of War ordered a “lethal kinetic strike” on a narco-terrorist vessel with his direct approval. Trump said that military commentator Pete Hegseth had overseen the operation, which reportedly killed six traffickers on board.
When asked Friday about Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s reaction to the U.S. military strikes, Trump didn’t mince words.
“He has offered everything, you’re right,” Trump said. “You know why? Because he doesn’t want to [expletive] around with the United States.”
Venezuela’s government has condemned previous U.S. operations in its waters as “illegal” and “hostile.” In a recent statement, Foreign Minister Yván Gil warned that his country “will defend its sovereignty against any provocation.”
Despite the criticism, Trump signaled that the campaign against Venezuelan drug networks is far from over. “We will not stop until every last narcoterrorist and every cartel partner is destroyed,” he said.