Trump Announces Destruction of Narco-Submarine in Caribbean, Claims Operation Prevented Thousands of U.S. Overdose Deaths

President Donald Trump revealed on Thursday that U.S. military forces carried out a dramatic strike in the Caribbean earlier this week, destroying what he described as a “very large drug-carrying submarine.” The mission, Trump said, resulted in the deaths of two suspected narco-terrorists and the capture of two others.

In a statement released on Truth Social — alongside video footage of the operation that Trump ordered to be made public — he said the semi-submersible vessel had been loaded with “fentanyl and other narcotics” and was traveling on a well-established smuggling route toward the United States. According to Trump, intercepting the craft prevented up to 25,000 potential overdose deaths.

“No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike,” Trump stated. “Under my watch, the United States of America will not tolerate narcoterrorists trafficking illegal drugs, by land or by sea.”

Fox News previously reported that two individuals on board survived the attack, were pulled from the water by the U.S. Navy, and taken into custody aboard a Navy vessel. Trump’s announcement marked the first time the administration confirmed the detainees’ identities and nationalities.

This incident marks the sixth U.S. interdiction of a suspected drug-smuggling craft since the launch of expanded American operations in the Caribbean last month. The Pentagon has not yet disclosed the name or scope of the mission, though officials have described it as part of a broader strategy to disrupt maritime narco-trafficking infrastructure.

Trump initially referenced the submarine strike during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House on Friday. “We attacked a submarine,” he told reporters, calling the vessel purpose-built for transporting enormous quantities of drugs.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking separately to reporters, declined to contradict early reports about survivors but said further information would be released after additional debriefing and investigation.

The submarine strike comes amid a wider escalation of U.S. intelligence and military activity in the region. Trump confirmed earlier this week that he authorized CIA operations targeting narcotics networks in the Caribbean basin. On Thursday, American B-52 bombers carried out a highly visible “show of force” near Venezuelan territorial waters, signaling a heightened military posture intended to disrupt cartel-aligned trafficking routes.

The U.S. fentanyl crisis remains a dominant political issue. Much of the fentanyl entering the country is manufactured in Mexico using chemical precursors imported from China. The drug has devastated communities across the nation and has become a leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 34.

Against this backdrop, Republican lawmakers have increasingly called for harsher penalties for fentanyl traffickers. In May 2023, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia introduced an amendment proposing the death penalty for anyone caught smuggling fentanyl into the United States. Greene noted at the time that “300 Americans are murdered each day by fentanyl,” emphasizing its growing toll.

Several conservative legislators have rallied behind similar proposals. Some have argued for mandatory life sentences for traffickers, while others say those convicted of distributing fentanyl that results in death should face capital punishment. The policy debate has only intensified amid concerns over cross-border trafficking and the record numbers of drug seizures reported in recent years.

In 2022, Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona introduced the Death Penalty for Dealing Fentanyl Act, calling for the most severe possible penalties for those caught manufacturing or distributing the drug. Gosar criticized efforts to reduce prison sentences for drug offenders, insisting that fentanyl-related crimes must be met with decisive federal action.

“One of the many deeply troubling consequences of Joe Biden’s open border policies is the deadly flow of fentanyl across the southern border,” Gosar said at the time. He pointed to federal data showing that more than a million pounds of illegal drugs had been seized since January 2021 — including more than 7,700 pounds of fentanyl in the first five months of 2022 alone.

Gosar argued that fentanyl trafficking has caused more American deaths over the past two decades than all U.S. combat fatalities combined since the nation’s founding. “It is long past time that those responsible for manufacturing or knowingly distributing fentanyl pay a heavy price,” he said.

The destruction of the narco-submarine represents one of the most aggressive U.S. interdiction efforts in recent memory. With additional operations underway throughout the Caribbean and increasing calls for tougher domestic penalties, the fight against fentanyl continues to shape national policy — and the political landscape — in profound ways.