On Thursday, October 16, 2025, the U.S. military unleashed a long-range strike on a semi-submersible vessel in the Caribbean, igniting a firestorm of legal, political, and diplomatic debate. The vessel, described by U.S. officials as a "very large drug-carrying submarine," was reportedly navigating a well-known narcotrafficking route toward American shores. According to President Donald Trump, U.S. intelligence had "confirmed" the vessel was loaded primarily with fentanyl—a synthetic opioid that has devastated communities across the United States—and other illegal narcotics.
The aftermath of the strike saw two individuals killed and two others rescued by a U.S. Navy search and rescue team. The survivors, initially detained aboard a Navy ship in international waters, became the subject of fierce deliberations within the Trump administration. The question: Should these men be held as wartime detainees, or repatriated to their home countries for prosecution?
By Saturday, October 18, President Trump announced via his Truth Social account that the two survivors would be returned to Ecuador and Colombia for detention and prosecution. "The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution," Trump declared, emphasizing, "No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike." He also claimed that allowing the vessel’s cargo to reach U.S. soil could have led to the deaths of "at least 25,000 Americans." As reported by The Independent and TNND, Trump’s rhetoric left little doubt about the administration’s hardline stance: "Under my watch, the United States of America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea."
The operation is part of a broader campaign that began in early September, described by the White House as a "non-international armed conflict" against narco-terrorism. Trump has justified the strikes by invoking the same legal authority used after the September 11 attacks, treating suspected traffickers as enemy combatants. The Department of War is now establishing a new counter-narcotics Joint Task Force in the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made the administration’s position clear on X (formerly Twitter): "The message is clear: if you traffic drugs toward our shores, we will stop you cold."
Yet, the campaign has not been without controversy. The death toll from these strikes has now reached 29, with nearly 30 "narcoterrorists" killed in what Trump has called "kinetic strikes." The president’s declaration of an armed conflict against drug cartels has drawn bipartisan criticism in Congress, which holds the sole authority to declare war but has not authorized any new hostilities in the Caribbean. On Friday, a group of senators threatened to force a vote to block further attacks on Venezuela, a country the White House accuses of collaborating with drug cartels.
Legal experts and human rights advocates have raised serious concerns about the legality of the strikes and the administration’s approach to detaining survivors. According to Reuters, the decision to repatriate the two survivors rather than hold them as prisoners of war reflects the administration’s desire to avoid thorny legal challenges. Brian Finucane, a senior adviser with the International Crisis Group, told Reuters, "Sending these people home is a way for the administration (to) turn the page on this embarrassing episode."
Rachel VanLandingham, a former Air Force lawyer now at Southwestern Law School, added, "Since there is no actual armed conflict, there is no law of armed conflict authority to hold them regardless what we call them." Even a current U.S. military lawyer conceded that the legal basis for long-term military detention would have been difficult to defend in court. The administration’s preferred narrative—that it is engaged in a formal conflict with drug cartels—has limited support in international and domestic law.
Critics have also questioned the quality of the intelligence that led to the deadly strikes. Former Homeland Security official Juliette Kayyem commented on X, "Generally, narcoterrorists are not repatriated unless they aren’t who Trump and [Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth say they are. Seems like we are just randomly killing people in boats." The administration has provided scant information about the individuals killed or the quantity of drugs seized, fueling suspicions about the operation’s transparency and legitimacy.
The strikes have had far-reaching diplomatic repercussions. The U.S. embassy in Trinidad and Tobago issued a heightened alert for Americans in the country following the attacks. Meanwhile, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has publicly accused the United States of attacking a fisherman’s vessel in an earlier strike, escalating tensions between the two countries. Venezuela, whose citizens are believed to have been among the victims, has mobilized troops and militia forces in response to the U.S. military buildup.
For families caught in the crossfire, the consequences have been devastating. Chad Joseph, a 26-year-old fisherman from Trinidad and Tobago, was reportedly killed in a similar strike earlier in the week. His mother, Lenore Burnley, expressed disbelief to The New York Times: "I don’t want to believe that this is my child. Is this really true?" Joseph’s family insists he was not a drug trafficker, raising difficult questions about the accuracy of U.S. intelligence and the potential for tragic mistakes.
As legal observers have pointed out, the administration’s approach could set a dangerous precedent. Jeffrey Stein, director of the ACLU’s National Security Project, stated, "All available evidence suggests that President Trump’s lethal strikes in the Caribbean constitute murder, pure and simple. The public deserves to know how our government is justifying these attacks as lawful, and, given the stakes, immediate public scrutiny of its apparently radical theories is imperative."
Amid mounting criticism, Admiral Alvin Hosley, head of U.S. Southern Command and the official overseeing the strikes, is set to retire at the end of 2025. According to the Department of Defense, his departure comes after he reportedly voiced concerns about the ongoing operations.
Despite the controversy, Trump has signaled that the campaign may soon expand. He told reporters that CIA missions inside Venezuela have already been authorized as part of the anti-drug crackdown, and that land operations against Venezuela are under consideration. The president claimed that Venezuelan leader Nicholas Maduro has offered "everything" to ease tensions, boasting, "You know why? Because he doesn't want to f*** around with the United States."
As the U.S. continues its high-stakes campaign against Caribbean drug cartels, the world is watching closely. With legal, political, and humanitarian questions swirling, the administration’s next moves will shape not just the regional fight against narcotics, but also the rules of engagement for American power abroad.
