WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States has arrested survivors after the military struck a suspected drug-carrying ship in the Caribbean, a defense official and another person familiar with the matter said Friday.
It was the first known attack in which someone escaped alive since President Donald Trump began launching it. deadly strikes in waters off Venezuela last month and raises questions about how the United States will treat survivors.
Trump later confirmed the attack during a White House event. “We attacked a submarine, and it was a drug-carrying submarine built specifically for transporting huge quantities of drugs,” he said.
Secretary of State Rubio did not dispute the existence of survivors, but he repeatedly said details would be provided soon.
Thursday’s strike, at least the sixth since early September, brought to at least 28 the number of casualties from the Trump administration’s military action against ships in the region.
This is the first time survivors have been recovered by the US military. It was not yet clear what would be done with the survivors, who the defense official said were being held on a U.S. Navy ship.
The official and another person confirmed the strike and the capture of the survivors on condition of anonymity because the attack had not yet been publicly acknowledged by the Trump administration.
Trump has justified the strikes by claiming that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, relying on the same legal authority used by the Bush administration when it declared a war on terrorism after the September 11 attacks. This includes the ability to capture and detain fighters and use lethal force to eliminate their leaders.
Some legal experts have questioned the legality of this approach. The president’s use of overwhelming military force to combat cartels, as well as his authorization of covert actions inside Venezuela, possibly to oust President Nicolás Maduro, pushes the limits of international law, legal scholars said this week.
Trump on Friday appeared to confirm reports that Maduro had offered a stake in Venezuela’s oil and other mineral wealth in recent months to try to stave off growing pressure from the United States. Last week, the New York Times first reported on the Maduro government’s efforts.
Venezuelan government officials also outlined a plan for Maduro to eventually leave office, according to a former Trump administration official. That plan was also rejected by the White House, the AP reported.
“He offered everything,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters at the start of his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “You know why? Because he doesn’t want to mess with the United States.”
For survivors of Thursday’s strike, the saga is barely over. They now face an uncertain future and legal landscape, including the question of whether they are now considered prisoners of war or defendants in a criminal case.
Reuters was the first to report the news of the strike on Thursday evening.
The strikes in the Caribbean have caused unease among both Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill, with some Republicans saying they have not received enough information about how the strikes are conducted. A classified briefing to senators on the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this month did not include representatives from South and Central America’s intelligence agencies or military command structure.
However, most Senate Republicans supported the administration last week when a vote on a war powers resolution was mooted, which would have required the administration to obtain congressional approval before carrying out further strikes.
Their willingness to support the administration will once again be tested. Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, along with Sens. Adam Schiff, Democrat of California, and Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, are introducing another resolution that would block Trump from outright attacking Venezuela without congressional authorization.
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Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim, Aamer Madhani and Stephen Groves contributed to this report.
