President Trump said the United States destroyed a “very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE that was navigating towards the United States on a well known narcotrafficking transit route.” “U.S. Intelligence confirmed this vessel was loaded up with mostly Fentanyl, and other illegal narcotics. There were four known narcoterrorists on board the vessel. Two of the terrorists were killed. At least 25,000 Americans would die if I allowed this submarine to come ashore,” Trump said. “The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. Under my watch, the United States of America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea,” he continued. Trump shared footage of the vessel being destroyed. JUST IN: President Trump announces that the United States has destroyed a drug-carrying submarine. “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.” “U.S.… pic.twitter.com/Mfxg2d8A3a — Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 18, 2025 More from the Associated Press: With Trump’s confirmation on his Truth Social platform of the death toll, that means U.S. military action against vessels in the region have killed at least 29 people. The president has justified the strikes by asserting that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. He is relying on the same legal authority used by the George W. Bush administration when it declared a war on terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks, and that includes the ability to capture and detain combatants and to use lethal force to take out their leadership. Trump is also treating the suspected traffickers as if they were enemy soldiers in a traditional war. “That was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for the transportation of massive amounts of drugs,” Trump said. “This was not an innocent group of people. I don’t know too many people that have submarines. And that was an attack on a drug-carrying, loaded-up submarine,” he continued. Footage below: Trump: US Navy — Destroyed a Drug Smuggling Submarine near Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/oZqA5IjBdQ — Joshua Reid | Redpills.tv (@realjoshuareid) October 17, 2025 ABC News noted: Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more details would be released later Friday, insisting the people on board were “terrorists.” The strike was the sixth military attack in the Caribbean Sea against suspected drug smugglers. The military campaign is part of a broader effort by Trump who says he wants Venezeula’s president, Nicholas Maduro, to step down, blaming Maduro for orchestrating the flow of illicit drugs coming to the U.S. Earlier this week, Trump threatened to attack Venezuela by land, confirmed ongoing covert operations inside the country and ordered bombers capable of dropping nuclear weapons to fly in circles off its coast in what appears to be an unprecedented show of force intended to pressure Maduro to step down.