“We attacked a submarine, and that was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs,” Trump said during a press conference with the Ukrainian president at the White House Friday.
Media reported that a U.S. Navy warship in the Caribbean has detained two of the strike’s survivors, which would make them the first to be held by U.S. forces in an escalating operation targeting narcotics traffickers from Latin America.
The alleged survivors’ physical conditions were not specified in media reports.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not dispute the report about survivors, but said details would be forthcoming.
The Pentagon referred questions about the survivors to the White House, which didn’t immediately respond. It was unclear what would be done with the survivors being held by the Navy.
Unnamed sources told Reuters the U.S. military staged a helicopter rescue to pick up the survivors of the attack and bring them aboard the Navy warship.
Thursday’s strike brings the death doll up to at least 28 in the ongoing operations targeting traffickers of narcotics and human traffickers in boats headed to the United States from Latin America.
In August, the U.S. Southern Command deployed several warships to the southern Caribbean, including guided missile destroyers and an amphibious-ready group of U.S. Marines.
Adm. Alvin Holsey, commander of the Southern Command, announced he would retire at the end of the year, without giving reasons for the departure. He will end his 37-year Navy career on Dec. 12, 13 months after he took the post.
In August, the U.S. State Department announced a $50 million reward leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, accusing him of trafficking drugs to the United States.
