President Donald Trump announced Saturday that a U.S. military operation in the Caribbean has destroyed a “very large drug-carrying submarine,” resulting in the deaths of two suspected narco-terrorists and the capture of two others.
The strike, which took place earlier this week, was part of an ongoing U.S. interdiction campaign targeting narcotics trafficking in the region. Trump ordered the release of video footage of the operation and posted a statement on Truth Social, calling it a critical success in the fight against drug smuggling.
According to the former president, the semi-submersible vessel was carrying fentanyl and other narcotics along a well-known trafficking route toward the U.S. mainland. He credited the operation with potentially preventing up to 25,000 overdose deaths.
“No U.S. forces were harmed in this strike,” Trump stated. “Under my watch, the United States of America will not tolerate narco-terrorists trafficking illegal drugs—by land or by sea.”
Fox News reported that two survivors were rescued by the U.S. Navy and are currently being held aboard an American warship. Trump’s statement marked the first official acknowledgment of their identities and nationalities, though those details have not yet been made public.
The submarine interdiction marks the sixth such operation in the region since U.S. combat missions began in the Caribbean last month. The Department of Defense has not officially named the operation or provided further comment.
Trump first publicly referenced the strike during a White House meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“We attacked a submarine, and that was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for transporting massive amounts of drugs,” he said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking separately Friday, did not deny reports of survivors and indicated additional information would be released soon.
Earlier in the week, Trump confirmed he had authorized expanded CIA operations in the Caribbean. On Thursday, U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers conducted a visible “show of force” near Venezuelan territorial waters.
The operation highlights the growing urgency over fentanyl smuggling, a synthetic opioid largely produced in Mexico using chemical precursors from China. The drug has become the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18–34.
In 2023, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) introduced an amendment to H.R. 467 proposing the death penalty for individuals convicted of knowingly smuggling fentanyl into the U.S.
“Three hundred Americans are murdered each day by fentanyl,” Greene said at the time. “It’s the leading killer of young people in America.”
Other Republicans have backed similar legislation, including calls for mandatory life sentences or capital punishment for convicted traffickers. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) previously introduced the Death Penalty for Dealing Fentanyl Act of 2022, which would impose life imprisonment or the death penalty on those found guilty of manufacturing or distributing the drug.
“The time for leniency is over,” Gosar said. “Those responsible for flooding our country with fentanyl must face the most severe consequences.”
Gosar and others have also tied the crisis to border security, blaming what they describe as lax immigration enforcement under President Biden.
“One of the most devastating outcomes of Joe Biden’s open-border policies is the deadly flood of fentanyl,” Gosar added in a press release. “Since Biden took office, more than one million pounds of illegal drugs have been seized—including 7,700 pounds of fentanyl in just the first five months of 2022.”
He concluded: “More Americans have died from drug poisoning in the last 23 years than in all U.S. wars combined since 1775. We need to send a message: Those who manufacture or traffic fentanyl will pay a heavy price.”
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