US returning Caribbean strike survivors

19/10/2025 5:51

The United States is sending the two survivors of a Thursday strike in the Caribbean to their home countries of Colombia and Ecuador to be detained and prosecuted.



U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday the move, which was first reported by Reuters, means that the U.S. military will not have to grapple with thorny legal issues surrounding military detention for suspected drug traffickers, whose alleged crimes do not fall neatly under the laws of war.



The U.S. military staged a helicopter rescue for the survivors on Thursday after the strike on their semi-submersible vessel, suspected of trafficking illegal narcotics.



The strike killed the other two crew members on board.



The U.S. military flew the survivors to a U.S. Navy warship in the Caribbean after the rescue.



Trump did not provide any evidence, but did post a roughly 30 second video which appeared to show a semi-submersible vessel in the water before being hit by at least one projectile.



Colombia's president's office, Ecuador's communications office and the foreign ministries of both countries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.