WASHINGTON (AP) – The United States has captured survivors after the military attacked a ship believed to be carrying drugs in the Caribbean, a defense official and another person familiar with the matter said Friday.
This is the first known attack in which anyone escaped alive since President Donald Trump launched deadly attacks in waters off Venezuela last month, raising questions about how the United States will treat survivors.
President Trump later acknowledged the attack at a White House event. “We attacked a submarine, and it was a drug-transporting submarine that was specifically built to transport large amounts of drugs,” he said.
Secretary of State Rubio did not dispute the existence of survivors, but reiterated that details would be revealed in the future.
Thursday’s attack was at least the sixth since early September and brings the death toll from the Trump administration’s military operations against vessels in the region to at least 28.
This is the first time that survivors have been interned by the U.S. military. Defense officials said the survivors were being held on a U.S. Navy ship, but it was not immediately clear how they would be treated.
Officials confirmed the attack and the capture of survivors on condition of anonymity because the Trump administration had not yet publicly acknowledged the attack.
President Trump justified the attacks by claiming that the United States was engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, relying on the same legal authority that the Bush administration used when it declared a war on terror after the Sept. 11 attacks. This includes the ability to capture and detain combatants and use deadly force to remove leaders.
Some legal experts question the legality of this approach. The president’s use of overwhelming military force to fight cartels and authorization of covert operations inside Venezuela, possibly aimed at ousting President Nicolás Maduro, exceeds the limits of international law, legal scholars said this week.
On Friday, President Trump appeared to confirm reports that Maduro had offered interests in Venezuela’s oil and other mineral resources in recent months to fend off increasing pressure from the United States. The New York Times first reported on the Maduro government’s efforts last week.
Venezuelan government officials have also floated plans for Maduro to eventually step down, according to a former Trump administration official. That plan was also rejected by the White House, the Associated Press reported.
“He offered everything,” President Trump said in an exchange with reporters at the beginning of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Do you know why? Because he doesn’t want anything to do with America.”
For survivors of Thursday’s strike, the story is far from over. They now face an uncertain future and legal situation, including questions about whether they will be considered prisoners of war or defendants in criminal cases.
Reuters first reported news of the strike late Thursday.
The strikes in the Caribbean have caused anxiety among both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill, with some Republicans saying they are not getting enough information about how the strikes are being conducted. A secret Senate Armed Services Committee briefing for senators earlier this month did not include representatives from the intelligence community or the military chain of command in Latin America.
But most Senate Republicans supported the administration last week during a vote on the War Powers Resolution, which would require Congressional approval before the administration could launch additional strikes.
Their willingness to support the regime will be tested once again. Sen. Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, along with Sen. Adam Schiff, Democrat of California, and Sen. Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, have introduced a separate resolution to prevent President Trump from openly attacking Venezuela without Congressional authorization.
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Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim, Aamer Madani and Stephen Groves contributed reporting.
