Moment Donald Trump destroys 'drug-carrying submarine loaded with fentanyl'
US President Donald Trump has shared a video of officials destroying a drug-smuggling submarine off the coast of Venezuela - two survivors were taken into custody, it has been confirmed
A shocking video has captured the moment Donald Trump ordered for a submarine to be destroyed over fears it was carrying drugs.
The sub was decimated off the coast of Venezuela, with Trump stating that the mission wiped out two “narcoterrorists”. The president said that the drug-smuggling ship was on its way to the United States, when his officials intercepted it.
According to Trump, the vessel was packed with fentanyl, alongside other drugs. He took to his platform Truth Social and said: "It was my great honor to destroy a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narcotrafficking transit route."
He added: "US Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics." Survivors from the explosion have since been taken into custody, it has been confirmed. Colombian President Gustavo Petro addressed the incident on Twitter and said: "We are glad he is alive, and he will be prosecuted according to the law."
The strike on Thursday took the death toll from the Trump administration’s military action against vessels in the region to at least 28. It is believed to be at least the sixth strike in the waters off Venezuela since early September, and the first to result in survivors who were picked up by the US military.
It was not immediately clear what would be done with the survivors who were being held on a US Navy vessel, sources said. Trump has justified the strikes by saying the US is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, relying on the same legal authority used by the Bush administration when it declared a war on terror after the September 11 attacks.
That includes the ability to capture and detain combatants and to use lethal force against their leadership. Some legal experts have questioned the legality of the approach. The president’s use of overwhelming military force to combat the cartels, along with his authorisation of covert action inside Venezuela, possibly to oust President Nicolas Maduro, stretches the bounds of international law, legal experts said this week.
The survivors of Thursday’s strike face an unclear future and legal landscape, including questions about whether they are considered to be prisoners of war or defendants in a criminal case. The strikes in the Caribbean have caused unease among Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill, with some Republicans saying they have not received sufficient information on how the strikes are being conducted.
A classified briefing for senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month did not include representatives from intelligence agencies or the military command structure for South and Central America.
However, most Senate Republicans stood behind the administration last week when a vote on a War Powers Resolution was brought up, which would have required the administration to gain approval from Congress before conducting more strikes.
Their willingness to back the administration will be tested again. Democratic senator Tim Kaine is bringing another resolution that would prevent Mr Trump from outright attacking Venezuela without congressional authorisation.